smaller country stations the charges are high, but in the large cities the charges are such as to make the cost of running comparable with those of gasolene carriages. Six cents per kilowatt hour is the average price charged at large stations, resulting in a cost per mile of 14 cents.

To ascertain the ability to make an extended tour in the Eastern States, an examination into the location of the different electric light stations was made by the writer. The results of this investigation indicated that starting from, for instance, Hartford, current could be obtained at intervals which would enable an electric carriage to easily run to Boston. Current is obtainable at Thompsonville, Conn., Springfield, Mass., which is twenty-nine miles from Hartford; Palmer, which is sixteen miles from Springfield; Warren, which is eleven miles from Palmer; South Spencer, which is eleven miles from Warren; Worcester, which is seventeen miles from South Spencer; Westboro, which is thirteen miles from Worcester; South Framingham which is ten miles from Westboro; Wellesley, which is seven miles from South Framingham; Newton, which is eight miles from Wellesley, and Boston, which is seven miles from Newton. Of course, there would be no need of stopping at all these stations, as the batteries in the Columbia carriage are good for twenty-five miles cn ordinary country roads.

In the first part of the eastward trip from Springfield the roads are very hilly and sandy and it is probable that the mileage of the batteries here would not be greater than twenty; but even so, it is seen that electric light facilities are ample. Going westward from Hartford, it was found that electric light stations where current is available are located at New Britain, ten miles from Hartford; Meriden, ten miles from New Britain; New Haven, nineteen miles from Meriden, but between which there are large mills using electric lights and willing to sell it to carriage users; Naugatuck, which is thirteen miles from New Haven; Bridgeport, which is five miles from Naugatuck; South Norwalk, which is fourteen miles from Bridgeport; Stamford, which is eight miles from South Norwalk; Port Chester, which is eight miles from Stamford; Mamaroneck, which is five miles from Port Chester; Mt. Vernon, which is seven miles from Mamaroneck, and Forty-second Street, Ney York City, which is fourteen miles from Mt. Vernon. In New York current is available in almost any locality, even at many private residences.

In running out of New York it is found that the electric light stations up the Hudson river toward Albany are at near enough intervals to make touring also possible, and the same is the case between New York and Philadelphia. In the vicinity of Philadelphia the facilities are not quite so good in all directions, although the most enjoyable trips are in the direction in which electric current is available.

The only disadvantage that can be connected with the charging of storage batteries is the time required. In recharging mechanical carriages it is, of course, merely necessary to obtain the fuel. In the case of an electric carriage, however, a certain amount of time is necessary. In no case, however, unless the batteries are completely discharged or empty, is it necessary to take more than one and one-half hours. In many instances, in the experience of the writer, the current consumed in a run of twenty miles has been returned in one and one-half hours.

Of course, at the present time the best recharging facilities exist in the Eastern States. It is probable, however, that even in the Middle-Western States the distances between stations where current can be purchased is so small that touring is possible whenever the condition of the roads would permit.

In this connection, and in conclusion, it may be interesting to state the number of towns and cities in the different Eastern and Middle States that have regularly equipped electric light sections. The following is a list:

Electric Cabs in London.

We had an opportunity this week of inspecting some of the London Electrical Cab Company's vehicles, says the London Electrician, and we were agreeably surprised with the care and thought which have been expended in their design. If the new company is not too much hampered financially by the agreements made with other concerns at the time of its formation it would be fairly safe to predict for it a success, as, if electrically-driven auto-cars are to prosper, the lines followed by Mr. Walter Bersey in the design of these electric cabs would seem to be the right ones.

Mr. Bersey points out that it is not quite fair to compare accumulator-driven tramcars with accumulator-driven cabs, as the proportion of the weights of the cells and vehicles are very different in the two cases. For example, in the case of the accumulator cars run by the Birmingham Central Tramway Company the weight of the accumulators is 21⁄2 tons out of a total weight of about 13 tons, including passengers, while the accumulators on electrical cabs, such as those now put into service by the London Electrical Cab Company, weigh upward of 14 cwt. out of a total weight, including passengers, of, say, 30 cwt. The beneficial effect of this difference is of the utmost importance, for while the cells on an electrical tramcar running under the above conditions are being almost continuously discharged at a very high rate, with a consequent rapid deterioration, the cells on the electrical cabs are being usually discharged under the normal rate of discharge. With the arrangements adopted, even in ascending moderate inclines, the cells still discharge below their normal rate; it is only when ascending severe gradients such as those leading into Waterloo Station that this rate is exceeded, and then only by a comparatively small amount.

The battery used on each of the vehicles consists of a set of 40 E. P. S. traction type cells having a capacity of 170 amperehours when discharged at a rate of 30 amperes. It is estimated that on the level the current required, when the controller is placed at "full speed," is 24 amperes, and that on a fair incline, at about one-third that speed, this current is not exceeded. Steeper gradients require up to 30 or 35 amperes. The cut-out acts at about 100 amperes, and the driver is provided with a spare one in case of accident. The afluidic" electrolyte which was to be used is still in its experimental stage. It is intended later to use this, instead of the usual dilute sulphuric acid, in the same type of cells. The E. P. S. Company guarantee the cells for a sum of 10 per cent. per annum of their first prices.

The battery is carried in a tray, which is slung under the bottom of the cab by four suspension links supported by Springs under compression, and the ordinary carriage springs again separate the cells from the vibration to which the carriage wheels are exposed. It being considered that one of the sources of expenditure in the maintenance of traction cells is the amount of pulling about they are usually subjected to in taking them in and out of the vehicles, the cabs have been designed so as to entirely prevent any such damage occurring in their case. The cabs are placed over a hydraulic table, on to which the tray of cells is wheeled on a light skeleton iron trolley. The table is then raised until the tray comes into the position in which it can be attached to the suspending links. The hydraulic table with the trolley is then lowered, and the cab left free to propel itself away. When the cells are to be

changed the cab is propelled over the hydraulic table, and the reverse operation takes place.

Fig. 1 shows the general external appearance of the cab. But for its color, which is a bright yellow, it resembles a onehorse coupe without the horse. There is only a single seat in the interior, well cushioned and comfortable and of ample width for 21⁄2 persons. The uncomfortable strapontin of the foreign cabs has not been added. The tires are of solid rubber and the running is very comfortable, and silent, moreover, only a faint note from the motor being occasionally heard. There is an electric lamp in the interior of the vehicle, and the outside lamps are also electric. The steering is effected by the two front wheels, through ordinary worm gearing turned by a handle on the driver's right-hand in the usual

matures have also two similar sets of windings and two commutators. This doubly-wound motor is connected to a seriesparallel controller of the usual American pattern in exactly the same way as the two motors of a tramcar would be connected to it. The 'Bersey" controller, which it was originally intended to use, did not prove so suitable.

The controller is arranged so as on the first step to connect the two armature windings and the two field windings to the cells in series with a small starting resistance; this is not a running speed, but is only intended to start the motor into motion. On the second step the windings are still in series, but the resistance is cut out, and with this arrangement the cab runs at a speed of about three miles an hour. The third step places the armatures in parallel, but leaves the fields in series, and with this connection the cab runs at about seven miles an hour. The fourth step places the field windings in parallel, and the cab runs at nine miles an hour. It will thus be seen that three normal running speeds allow of the fullenergy of the current being utilized in the motor without any absorption in resistance, and the cab can thus "crawl," using only about the same number of watt hours per car mile as when running at full speed. In the reverse direction from

the top position the series-parallel controller on the first step short-circuits the motor through the starting resistance, thereby gently braking the cab. On the second step backward the motor is completely short-circuited, bringing the cab to a dead stop; and the third step backward reverses the connections between the armatures and fields, all being in series, to en able the cab to be moved at the slowest speed backward. The whole of these movements are produced by the use of one lever placed at the left-hand side of the driver's box. The removal of a plug beneath the driver's seat disconnects the controller from the motor and cells. The circuit from the accumulators to the controller and motor passes through a switch attached to the foot-brake, which can also be used for bringing the cab to a stop. This switch is arranged to break the circuit when the foot-brake is applied. It is therefore impossible for a careless driver to apply the brake while the current is still passing through the motor. The foot-brake has another advantage in the crowded London streets, for when moving in a block the driver can set his controller handle to slow ahead, and then start and stop the cab time after time as the traffic slowly moves on by simply putting on and taking off his foot-brake.

The gear between the motor and the wheels of the cab is very well designed. In Fig. 2 it is shown in elevation. A is the center of the motor spindle on which a pinion, C, is attached. This pinion gears into a toothed wheel, D, on a countershaft (indicated by the center B), the gear ratio being 25:62. In Fig. 3 the differential gear on the countershaft is shown, the large toothed wheel which contains the gear being the gear wheel marked D in Fig. 2. Each side of the countershaft is connected by chain gearing to a rear wheel of the cab. The chains are of the Hans-Renold laminated type; the pattern is fairly clearly shown in Fig. 2. The diameters of the chain wheels E and F are such that the speed ratio between motor and driving wheel is about 1.16. The slack of the chain is taken up by a right and left-handed screw adjustment on turning the nut G.

It was originally estimated that two sets of cells would be required to enable the cab to do an ordinary day's work in the streets of London, it being considered that one set would propel it about 35 miles. The economy of the motor and controller arrangements, however, is so considerable that it is now found the cabs will do at least 50 miles with one set of cells, and the economy in the use of current thus experienced will make the running of the cabs cheaper than was originally

over two months, making good headway on all kinds of roads and grades and developing a speed of 20 to 25 miles an hour on a level.

Associated with Mr. Erie in the development of his invention are S. D. Sturgis, a me hanic of Los Angeles, and C. H. Albers, Ex-President of the Merchants' Exchange, of St. Louis, Mo.

A third carriage is now being built which will constitute a finished model from which to manufacture.

The Lacoste Qaudricycle.

One of the latest inventions to make its appearance in Paris is the "Lacoste" quadricycle. The special features of this machine are in the design and the motor. The quadricycle, or "voiturette," is intended to carry three or four persons, according to requirements, and the driver is seated behind so as to be in a position to see over the heads of those seated in front of him. This design could be splendidly adapted for a four-wheeled hansom cab, and it is the intention of the inventor to eventually give his special attention to the construction of an English hansom cab with the front wheels driving and steering at the same time (a patent the inventor holds), and the design will be placed with the manufacturers in England as soon as negotiations are completed. The motor is horizontal, with two cylinders, and can be constructed on the exact lines of the model, from one to twelve horse-power, according to requirements of any vehicle from a tricycle to a delivery van. A new system of electric ignition, forming part of the patent, has been adapted, and the sparking arrangement is regulated by a special cam attached to and worked by the

motor, by which the speed can also be varied independently of the gearing.

The exhaust valves are also regulated by the motor itself on an entirely new principle. Another important improvement has been introduced in the exhaust box, attached immediately behind the motor, and at the back of the quadricycle, the noise being reduced to a minimum.

A very small carburetter is used, which forms one of the principal items of the patents. Through this carburetter a small quantity of petroleum (70 specific gravity) is sucked and vaporized, then mixed with air, so as to consume the minimum quantity of petroleum.

The ends of the connecting rods run continually in a "bath of oil," which is completely closed, and no fear of “gripping" need be entertained when on a long stiff incline the motor is giving out its full power.

A small pump is kept in constant action by the motor to circulate the water round the cooling jacket, so that only a reduced quantity of water is necessary, a change from overheating being absolutely required only after a straight run of about seventy miles.

The motor complete with fly wheel only weighs 150 pounds for four horse-power running at 800 revolutions per minute.

The New Riker Electric Traps.

The Riker Electric Motor Co. are now showing a new model electric trap, which in design and general appearance must be pronounced the handsomest of its class.

The vehicle weighs 1,810 pounds, carries four or five dos-ados, and has an unusually wide body, measuring 41 in., while the gauge is 4 ft. 9 in. The length of the wheel base is

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