Hence we roll,—but not far enough,—we approximate in nature, but reach the goal by man’s genius; shown in the full circular wheel.
It will be seen from the following (p. 51) that the bones in man are not arranged for high speed; hence we must make up for this deficiency.
“The speed attained by man, although considerable, is not remarkable; it depends on a variety of circumstances, such as height, age, sex, and muscular energy of the individual, the nature of the surface to be passed over, and the resistance to forward motion due to the presence of air whether still or moving. A reference to the human skeleton, particularly its inferior extremities, will explain why the speed should be moderate.”
Page 52. “Another drawback to great speed in man (as distinguished from animals) is, ... part of the power which should move (serve as a motive power) ... is dedicated to supporting the trunk.”
Now, in the cycle method we support the trunk all right, but should apparently make more use of the arms,—inventors take notice.
Page 56. “In this respect the human limbs, when allowed to oscillate, exactly resemble a pendulum.”
Here is the trouble with nature; there is too much oscillation instead of continuous rotation; nature does not go far enough.
Page 58. “The trunk also rotates in a forward direction on the foot which is placed on the ground for the time being; the rotation begins at the heel and terminates at the toes.”
Thus the rotation is all right so far as it goes.
Page 60. “The right side of the trunk has now reached its highest level and is in the act of rolling over the right foot.”
Hence see the effort of nature to roll.