J. Darling (7, 2, 28, 1) bowled in two innings, and H. Graham (4, 2, 19, 1), C. Hill (2, 0, 4, 0), H. Musgrove (4, 0, 18, 0), and F. A. Iredale (5, 0, 18, 0), in one innings only. Proverb Slow help is ro help. CYCLING.: SHORT INSTRUCTIONS FOR LEARNING TO RIDE. If you ask an experienced cyclist if riding is easily learned, he will answer with truth, "Perfectly so.' And he might add that the only real difficulties to be surmounted are (1) Balancing, (2) Steering, (3) Mounting and Dismounting, and (4) the proper Rotary Movement of the foot on the pedals. Six or eight trials or lessons will, with the help of a friend, enable most people to overcome all these difficulties, and then a little practice will soon make perfect. Get your friend to go with you to some quiet road, slightly downhill, where the machine may run more easily; let him steady the machine while you mount, as explained below. When Balancing. on the machine sit nearly upright, with the hands resting lightly on the handle-bar, and without gripping this too firmly. You will soon feel that the machine has a tendency to incline to the right or to the left: give the handle-bar a gentle counterbalancing turn, and this will cause it to regain an upright position. Do not keep the eyes fixed on the machine or ground, but look well up in front of Your companion's you. hand placed firmly at the back of the saddle will be of great help to steady you till you have gained confidence and can keep the machine on the go" without difficulty. The easiest and best way to mount is by the step usually to be found on the left side of the back wheel axle. Place the left foot on this step, and by hopping two or three times on the right foot, give the machine a forward motion, then with a light spring raise yourself on to the step and drop gently into the saddle, at same time placing the feet in position on the pedals. Don't hurry, but try to feel confidence in your balancing powers, and you will soon be surprised how easy it all is. Some riders prefer to mount by the right or left pedal, but this is apt to unduly strain the pedals, and is not to be recommended. Mounting. For ladies the method of mounting is entirely different. A lady rider should stand on the left side of the machine (it is a good thing to practise mounting from both sides, but the left comes more naturally), incline the machine slightly to the left, with the right pedal just past the highest point of its revolution. Then sit on step lightly to the ground. Ladies dismount in the same way, but step off from the left pedal by bringing the right foot to the ground in front of the left. Proper pedalling can only be learned by practice. The ball of the foot should rest on the pedals, and when the leg is fully stretched out the foot should be parallel with the ground. From the accompanying illustration the position of the foot on the pedal at various points of its revolution will be seen. Correct ankle-action can only be attained by constant care and practice, but when once learned is a great aid to easy riding, as not only is power obtained in the downward stroke of the foot, but also in the "clawing" of the foot when the pedal is rising; this is specially noticeable when riding uphill. When the pedalling is fairly well understood the upper part of the chain will be kept tight between the gear wheels instead of making a series of abrupt jerks. With a moderate amount of care the first steps in riding can be made without any risk of falls. The proper descent of hills requires what is called back-pedalling, that is to say, the retardation of the machine by an action the direct reverse of that employed in propulsion. This is not at all difficult to acquire by practice on slopes of different gradients. The rider, unless racing is his chief aim, may be recommended to choose a machine so built that he can easily reach the handles at about the level of the saddle, and at the same time sit well back with the peak of the saddle three or four inches behind the axle. To raise the handles in order to bring them within reach or to adopt the other alternative of crouching into a semi-racing attitude is obviously highly undesirable. Proverb-Constant dropping wears away stone. THE autumn of 1895 will long be memorable for the commencement of a cycling" boom," which, even yet, cannot with certainty be said to have reached its climax. The extent of the new mania was such as to take everybody, including most of the manufacturers, by surprise, with the result that machines of all kinds were, for a long time, at a premium, and, though capital and labour were attracted from other industries, the demand was never thoroughly overtaken. Especially notable was the extension of the taste for bicycling among women, and it was chiefly the conversion of ladies of high social position which gave to the bicycle the cachet of fashion. Its use as an accessory of athletic exercise has accordingly become quite secondary to the service which it renders in the promenade and as a vehicle for short journeys in which business is blended with pleasure. During the winter a bicycling exhibition, in which women played the chief part, was given at the Westminster Aquarium, and this was succeeded by daily racing at Olympia, on a fine cement track, very thoroughly and curiously banked at the curves, and admitting of a high rate of speed. Both these places were well attended by the public, who, doubtless, there gained ocular conviction of the powers of the bicycle. In April the world was astonished to hear of a gigantic commercial transaction, the company owning the well-known Dunlop Tyre patents being able to sell its property for the sum of £3,000,000, although its capital expenditure during several years had not much exceeded a quarter of a million. The purchasers promcted a new limited liability company, with a capital of £5,000,000, which huge sum was subscribed many times over by applicants for shares. Fashionable bicycling clubs came into existence for the purpose of providing private tracks for the instruction and daily exercise of their members, by many of whom bicycling was practised as a graceful and ornamental diversion after the model of figure-skating. Among the novelties of the season was a tyre, the Fleuss, dispersing with the ordinary inner air-tube, and a chainless machine, ridden in France with promising results by certain professionals. RACING, &C.-The high development of facemaking, by means of paid riders of tandems, triplets, and other multi-cycles, while producing extraordinary performances and very successful from a spectacular point of view, has done much to take away the interest of bicycling as an amateur sport. The feats of a rider are now largely dependent on the organisation, at considerable expense, of relays of pace-makers, behind whom he can ride sheltered from the wind, resistance which was the sole remaining obstacle to almost unlimited speed. Professional racing has quite supplanted amateur competitions in the public view, and the season has been mainly occupied with matches in which paid riders have taken part. In a 50 miles match at Cardiff, on October 7, A. V. Linton beat J. Michael. A week later J. Stocks, at Catford, made new records from 10 miles to 44. F. J. Osmond and F. W. Chinn, on Oct. 12, rode half a mile on a tandem in 45 secs., and I mile in 1 min. 363 secs. Within a few days C. C. Fontaine rode from London to York in 1 hrs. 51 mins. In Paris, Pantin won the Grand Prix of £240; and a match at 1, 5, and 10 miles between Michael and Gougoltz ended in favour of the Welshman by the odd event. The Stanley and National Shows in November and December were well supported, but contained few noticeable novelties. The racing season opened with the annual Spring Meeting of the Surrey B.C. at Kennington Oval, which as usual attracted a large attendance. The victory of T. Osborn in the 5 miles professional race, and of Reynolds, of Dublin, in the 10 miles, were its chief features. Catford, on May 2, a 100 yards race between a bicyclist (Osborn) and a pedestrian (Hutchens) gave an easy win to the latter, and a similar result attended other trials of this kind later in the season. In a 5 miles club match Polytechnic beat Catford at this meeting, Walters finishing first, and C. F. Barden won a 10 mile Proverb-Little chips light great fires. At professional contest in 24 mins. 42 secs. The York to London road-ride was accomplished by G. Hunt, on May 7, in 10 hrs. 48 mins. On the 9th an amateur meeting of the London County C. & A.C. was held at Herne Hill, and H. W. Payne won the ro miles race. Tandem records for 7 to 10 miles were made at Wood Green on the same day by F. R. Goodwin and S. J. Prevost, the full distance being done in 21 mins. 41 secs., and J. Platt-Betts, in winning a professional race, did the same course in 20 mins. 423 secs. CYCLING IN BATTERSEA PARK. A. A. Chase rode 29 miles and about 300 yards in an hour, and beat the records up to 50 miles. The 50 miles race of the North Road Club, having become a track event, decided at Wood Green, fell to A. F. Ilsley, on the 23rd. On the same day the annual Bordeaux to Paris race was won by Linton by a couple of seconds from Rivièrre, in spite of the former diverging from the course at the finish, in the wonderful time of 21 hours 17 mins. 18 secs. The 25 mile N.C.U. Amateur Championship was carried off on May 30 by a Russian, M. Diakoff, and the 1 mile by P. W. Brown, Polytechnic C.C. 5 miles. A quadruplet ridden by Wheelock, Walters, F. Betts, and Yeoman won a multicycle mile contest at Catford on June 20, where also Stocks rode 5 miles against time in 10 mins. 3 secs. A 6 hours' amateur race at Wood Green produced a performance of 140 miles 250 yards by J. MacLaren and J. A. Spencer on a tandem. Cambridge beat Oxford at Wood Green, on June 26, by 37 points to 26, the winners being:-1 mile, L. F. Kenny, Cambridge; 4 miles, A. C. Nesbitt, Oxford; 10 miles (with pacemakers), F. A. K. Stuart, ; Cambridge. In winning the Century Cup at Proverb-An Englishman's house is his castle. Herne Hill, on June 27, R. Palmer, Silverdale C.C., not only surpassed the previous amateur performances by finishing 28 miles in an hour, but beat all records for 100 miles with 3 hours 47 mins. 47 secs. The Bol d'Or 24 hours in Paris yielded the wonderful distance of 533 miles or 850,120 mètres to Rivièrre, mounted on a chainless machine; and the Grand Prix of £240 was won by Morin in the presence of the President of the Republic; Eden's saddle giving way when he was likely to be successful, and Jacquelin being only a foot short of victory. In the 12 hours' Gold Vase Race at Catford, occupying part of 3 days, J. W. Stocks rode 302 miles 176 yards. The American, J. S. Johnson, rode a mile in 1 min. 57 secs. at Wood Green and defeated Michael, Eut succumbed to his antagonist in a 10 mile race. The Brighton-London record fell to C. G. Wridgway's assault, on July 15, in 5 hours 22 mins. 33 secs. On the 18th, C. F. Barden and E. R. Parlby rode 5 miles on a tandem at Wood Green in 9 min. 25 secs., and at Catford, on the same day, Johnson did a flying start mile in 1 min. 42 secs. This feat was excelled two days later by J. Platt-Betts, who did I min. 41 secs. The Cuca Cup, 24 hours, at Herne Hill, as usual provided a new amateur record, the winner, F. R. Goodwin, completing 476 miles 1,402 yards; but on the same day, July 25, the North Road C.C., 24 hours, ended tamely, Huret finding no opposition after riding 288 miles 240 yards in the first half of the time on the Wood Green track. Two big meetings, on August 28, at Catford and Wood Green attested the popularity of spectacular cycling. At the latter place, J. Platt-Betts rode a mile from a standing start in the wonderful time of I min. 48 secs. On August 8, in the Kops' 100 miles, Palmer improved on his recent achievement by finishing the distance in 3 hours 37 mins. 59 secs. A great International meeting, held at Copenhagen, saw H. Reynolds, the Irish rider, win what was described as the Amateur Championship of the world, and A. A. Chase secure the Professional Championship for 100 kilometres, while the Mile Championship fell to Bourillon. T. A. Edge's 1,000 miles road record in Aug., and the opening of the Crystal Palace new track at the end of Sept., attracted some attention. Here it was that, after an extraordinary tandem ride of 31 miles 610 yards by Macgregor and Nelson, J. W. Stocks singly accomplished 62 yards short of the same distance in one hour. The Anchor Challenge Shield for 12 hours was won by M. Balian on Sept. 19. BICYCLE GYMKHANAS.-That proficiency in the management of the bicycle is a thing apart from the ability to ride at great speed has been shown by the graceful exhibitions of acrobatic. riders. At the new fashionable cycling clubs, such as the Trafalgar and Wheel Clubs, the cultivation of riding as a fine art has enabled the members to hold meetings at which competitions in dexterity and skill comprised the greater part of the programme. The racing type of machine is not used for these sports, in which it is necessary for the competitor to balance himself neatly and gracefully in an upright attitude. Among the exercises which are practised may be instanced riding along planks and in and out of rows of posts or other obstacles. To ride one machine and lead another by the handles produces another very interesting trial of skill. Many of the games practised in the military manège are easily adapted to the bicycle, for example, tent pegging, heads and posts, and tilting at the ring. Among the more or less amusing competitions borrowed from the Indian institution of the Gymkhana are the egg and spoon race and the needle-threading race for lady and gentleman, in which the parts are often redistributed, so that the gentleman is left to thread the needle which the lady conveys to him and delivers at the winning post. The potato race and bobbing for apples in tubs of water,letter-writing and hattrimming mounted competitions, and so forth, are other examples of diversions which can be invented, multiplied, and varied ad infinitum. Riding abreast in couples, in threes, or in larger bands, each bicyclist holding his neighbour's handle bar, is a sport more peculiarly characteristic of the iron steed. But by far the prettiest of all bicycling evolutions is the musical ride, which requires careful planning and drilling, but can be carried out on any large lawn or tennis-ground without great difficulty. CYCLISTS' LAMP-LIGHTING TABLE. Showing variation in time of Sunrise and Sunset for principal places in Great Britain, on 1st of each Month. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. ост. Aberdeen Birmingham Bristol Carlisle Carnarvon JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. NOV. DEC. Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets Ris. Sets +40-24 +29-13+16 +2+14-12+28-25+41-28 +44-17+33-2+18+12+ 4+25 - 939-23 +21+11 +20 +12+17 +15+15 +17 +13 +19 +10 +22 +10 +22+12+20 +14 +18+17 +15+18+14 +20 +12 +34-18+259+15+ 1+ 3+13-8+24-18+34-20 +36-12+28 - +16 +11+5+22- 6+32-16 +12+2+11+ 3+ &+ 6+ 6+ 8+ 4+10+ 1+13+ 1+13+ 3+11+ 5+ 9+ 8 + 6 + 9 + 9 +11 + 3 +10+10+10+10+1+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10 +1 +10 +10 +31 7+251 +17 + 7+9+15 - +24-8+32-10+34 - 3+27 + 6 +18+14 +10 +23+ 1+30 6 +25+ 9 +22+12+19 +15+16 +18+12 +22+ 8 +26+ 8 +26+10 +24+14 +20+18+16+21 +13+24+10 +14 - 2+11+ I + 8 + 4+ 5+ 7 + 1+1 3+15-3+15- 1+13 + 3 + 9 + 7 + 5+10+2+13- I +41-17+31 7 +19 + 5+ 7 +17-6+30-17+41-20+44-10+34+ 3+21+15+ +28-439-15 Edinburgh +39-13+30 4+20+ 6+ 8+18-3+29-13+39-15+41 7+33+ 5+21+16 +1 +27 1+-37-11 Exeter +9+19+10+18+13+15+15+13 +17 +11 +20 + 8 +20 + 8 +18+10+16 +12+13 +15+12+16+ 9 +19 Falmouth +13 +27 +15 +25 +18+22+21 +19+24 +16 +27 +13 +28 +12 +25 +15 +22 +18+19 +21 +17 +23 +14 +26 Glasgow +439+34 +24+10+12+22+ 1+33-9+43-11+45 3+37 + 9 +25+20 +14 +31 + 3+41-7 Inverness +53-19 +41 7 +26+ 8+10+245 +39-20+54-23+57-10 +44 + 6 +28+21 +13 +36-2+51-17 John o'Groat's..+58-34+41-17 +23+ 1+ 4+20-15 +39-34 +58-38 +62-22+46 — 2+25+17+ 7+35-11+54-30 London (Greenwich). The Times for Sunrise and Sunset are those given in the Kalendar. Manchester ·....+20-2+16+ 2+12+ 6+ 7+11+ 2+16- 3+1 4+22 Newcastle +25-13+19 +11+ 1+ 3 + - 6+18-14+26-16+28-9+21 - +12+ 8+ 4+17 Norwich - 19-1- 9-4-6-6-4-8-2-11+ 1-11+1-9-1-773-4-6-3-7-1-9 Oxford + 7 + 3 + 7 + 3 + 6 + 4+ 5+ s + 3 + 7 + 2 + ε + 2 + 8 + 3 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 5+ 5 + 6 + 4+ 7+ 3 Perth +43-15+335+21+ 7+9+19-4+32-15+43-18+46-8+36 + 5+23 +17 +11+30 - 2+41-13 +64 + 53+ 2- -+22+ 4-5+ 75+ 73+ 5 + 3 + 2 + 31+ 5-13 +12+22+13 +21+16 +18+18+16+20 +14+23+11+23+11+21 +13 +19 +15 +16 +18+15+19+12+22 + 2+ 6+ 2+ 6+ 3+ 5+ 4 + 4 + 6 + 2 + 7 + + 7 + 1 + 6 + 2 + 5 + 3+ 4+ 4 + 3+ 5+ 2+ 6 +18-14+13- 9+ 6 - 2 - 1+ 5 - 8 +12-15+19-17+21-11+15-3+ 7+ 4 -+-7+17 + 2 + 6 +1-10+18-12+2017+1= - + 8+ 6+ 24-11EXAMPLE.-Required time of Sunset at Perth, on June 1st and of Sunrise at Falmouth, on September 4th. The times given in the Kalendar are 8.5 and 5.19. Above table shows that 43m. has to be added to 8.5 8.45 p.m., and 22 minutes added to 5.19 = 5.41 a.m. Lamps must be lit between one hour after Sunset and until one hour before Sunrise, Proverb-Little pitchers have long ears. Peterboro' Portsmouth York (+18+ 5+13 +10 + 8 +15+ 3+18 +24-12 |