Having given in the last two weeks the bicycle route from Chicago to Ottawa, it may be well, before going into other parts of the country, to say something of the rides in the vicinity of Ottawa itself. As was said last week, there are a great many places of historic interest in the vicinity of Ottawa. The most interesting trip is from Ottawa to La Salle, and there are several ways of getting there, the best, so far as the immediate journey is concerned, being the one described as the bicycle route on the southern side of the railroad and the canal and on the northern bank of the Illinois River. Leave the Court-house at Ottawa and run westward. The roads are in good condition, whether you go north of the railroad or south of it, or, indeed, south of the river. A pleasant route is out by the County Farm and Asylum, past Buffalo Rock, and thence to the Sulphur Springs. Then, crossing the bridge at Utica brings you to Starved Rock, one of the most famous spots in the State. In the first place, it is here that one of the first settlements in the valley of the Illinois River was made. It is where La Salle first settled and made his capital of what was to be New France, and it has been the scene of many an Indian fight. From Starved Rock, a four-mile trip with some hilly road brings you to Deer Park, which is well worth seeing. From this point it is easy to find the road into La Salle itself through Oglesby. The trip may be made to extend over about twenty-four or twenty-five miles, and then, after having dinner at La Salle, the fifteen-mile run back to Ottawa by the direct route will make a day's ride of some forty miles that is as full of picturesque and historic interest as any ride of similar length in Illinois.
We have now given several trips in the vicinity of Chicago, which will of course be of special interest to the readers of the Round Table who live in or near that city. Having gone so far, although there are many other attractive trips in that district, the number of inquiries for routes along the Atlantic coast, through New Jersey, New York State, and Pennsylvania, is so great that we shall turn back towards the East, and for the next few weeks give some routes and tours in that part of the country. At the same time, if there are any particular routes of general importance which readers in Chicago wish to know about, and believe to be sufficiently interesting to general bicyclists, we shall be very much pleased to have information regarding them, and to consider publishing maps of them in this Department.
Note.—Map of New York city asphalted streets in No. 809. Map of route from New York to Tarrytown in No. 810. New York to Stamford, Connecticut, in No. 811. New York to Staten Island in No. 812. New Jersey from Hoboken to Pine Brook in No. 813. Brooklyn in No. 814. Brooklyn to Babylon in No. 815. Brooklyn to Northport in No. 816. Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie in No. 817. Poughkeepsie to Hudson in No. 818. Hudson to Albany in No. 819. Tottenville to Trenton in No. 820. Trenton to Philadelphia in No. 821. Philadelphia in No. 822. Philadelphia-Wissahickon Route in No. 823. Philadelphia to West Chester in No. 824. Philadelphia to Atlantic City—First Stage in No. 825; Second Stage in No. 826. Philadelphia to Vineland—First Stage in No. 827; Second Stage in No. 828. New York to Boston—Second Stage in No. 829; Third Stage in No. 830; Fourth Stage in No. 831; Fifth Stage in No. 832; Sixth Stage in No. 833. Boston to Concord in No. 834. Boston in No. 835. Boston to Gloucester in No. 836. Boston to Newburyport in No. 837. Boston to New Bedford in No. 838. Boston to South Framingham in No. 839. Boston to Nahant in No. 840. Boston to Lowell in No. 841. Boston to Nantasket Beach in No. 842. Boston Circuit Ride in No. 843. Philadelphia to Washington—First Stage in No. 844; Second Stage in No. 845; Third Stage in No. 846; Fourth Stage in No. 847; Fifth Stage in No. 848. City of Washington in No. 849. City of Albany in No. 854; Albany to Fonda in No 855; Fonda to Utica in No. 856; Utica to Syracuse in No. 857; Syracuse to Lyons in No. 858; Lyons to Rochester in No. 859; Rochester to Batavia in No. 860; Batavia to Buffalo in No. 861; Poughkeepsie to Newtown in No. 864; Newtown to Hartford in No. 865; New Haven to Hartford in No. 866; Hartford to Springfield in No. 867; Hartford to Canaan in No. 868; Canaan to Pittsfield in No. 869; Hudson to Pittsfield in No. 870. City of Chicago in No. 874. Waukesha to Oconomowoc in No. 875; Chicago to Wheeling in No. 876; Wheeling to Lippencott's in No. 877; Lippencott's to Waukesha in No. 878; Waukesha to Milwaukee in No. 879; Chicago to Joliet in No. 881; Joliet to Ottawa in No. 882.
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
VIGNETTING.
A vignetted photograph is one whose background shades off gradually into white, and is made by printing through an opening placed a short distance from the plate. The difference between masking and vignetting is that the mask or cut-out, is placed directly on the negative, and when the picture is printed there is a sharp line between the part printed and the part shielded from the light. In the vignetted picture the opening is placed a short distance from the negative so that the light is diffused, and instead of making a sharp line, the picture fades off gradually into pure white.