Thus, with the aid of a fan and a gear which will give at least two speeds, the motor cyclist can, with an engine of 2 h.p., climb almost any hill, even without resorting to the help of the pedals. His motion is therefore practically continuous. To be comfortable, he desires immunity from the vibration which quick movement over any but first-class roads sets up in the machine, especially in its forward parts. Several successful spring forks and pneumatic devices have been invented to combat the vibration bogy; and these, in conjunction with a spring pillar for the saddle, which can itself be made most resilient, relieve the rider almost entirely of the jolting which at the end of a long day's ride is apt to induce a feeling of exhaustion. The motor tricycle, which once had a rather bad name for its rough treatment of the nerves, is also now furnished with springs to all wheels, and approximates to the car in the smoothness of its progression.
Assuming, then, that we have motor vehicles so light as to be very manageable, sufficiently powerful to climb severe gradients, reliable, comfortable to ride, and economical in their consumption of fuel and oil, we are able to foresee that they will modify the conditions of social existence. The ordinary pedal-driven cycle has made it possible for the worker to live much further from his work than formerly. "To-morrow, with a motor bicycle, his home may be fifteen miles away, and those extra miles will make a great difference in rent, and in the health of his family. In fact, it almost promises to reconcile the Garden City ideal with the industrial conditions of to-day, by enabling a man to work in the town, and have his home in the country. This advantage applies, of course, less to London than to other great cities, on account of the seemingly endless miles of streets to be traversed before the country is reached. In most manufacturing centres, however, the motoring workman could get to his cottage home by a journey of a few miles. Even in London, moreover, this disadvantage will be overcome to a large extent in the future, for it is as certain as anything of the kind can be that we must ultimately have special highways, smooth, dustless, reserved for motor traffic, leading out of London in the principal directions.... My own conviction is that motor cycling, the simplest, the quickest, the cheapest independent locomotion that has ever been known, is destined to enjoy enormous development. I believe that within a few years the motor bicycle and tricycle will be sold by hundreds of thousands, and that many of the social and industrial conditions of our time will be greatly and beneficially affected by them."[13]
FOOTNOTE:
[13.] Henry Norman, Esq., M.P., in The World's Work.
[CHAPTER X]
FIRE ENGINES
A good motto to blazon over the doors of a fire-brigade station would be "He gives help twice who gives help quickly." The spirit of it is certainly shown by the brave men who, as soon as the warning signal comes, spring to the engines and in a few minutes are careering at full speed to the scene of operations.
Speed and smartness have for many years past been associated with our fire brigades. We read how horses are always kept ready to be led to the engines; how their harness is dropped on to them and deft fingers set the buckles right in a twinkling, so that almost before an onlooker has time to realise what is happening the sturdy animals are beating the ground with flying hoofs. And few dwellers in large cities have not heard the cry of the firemen, as it rises from an indistinct murmur into a loud shout, before which the traffic, however dense, melts away to the side of the road and leaves a clear passage for the engines, driven at high speed and yet with such skill that accidents are of rare occurrence. The noise, the gleam of the polished helmets, the efforts of the noble animals, which seem as keen as the men themselves to reach the fire, combine to paint a scene which lingers long in the memory.
But efficient as the "horsed" engine is, it has its limitations. Animal strength and endurance are not an indefinite quantity; while the fireman grudges even the few short moments which are occupied by the inspanning of the team. In many towns, therefore, we find the mechanically propelled fire engine coming into favour. The power for working the pumps is now given a second duty of turning the driving-wheels. A parallel can be found in the steam-engine used for threshing-machines, which once had to be towed by horses, but now travels of itself, dragging machine and other vehicles behind it.