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On this Page 39
motor Dotes.
By "Magneto Sparks."
Tlie Taxi (,'ab Co. has purchased a fine block of
land in Lonsdale-street. Melbourne, from Mr, L. F.
Collin, music warehouseman, of Swanston - street,
upon which the company will build a new and
handsome garage. The land has a frontage to
Lonsdale-strcet of 40 feet by a depth of about IH'i
feet. The company now possess a fleet of sonro
seventy cars, mostly two-cylinder Renaults, and thu
want of accommodation in the present premises in
Exhibition-street has forced them out to seek more
space to pack the cars for a growing business.
The mascot of tho Taxi Cab Co. of Melbourne is
a black catiwith very deep yellow eyes Uhat lives onrthe
company's premises and enjoys a motoring - life.
Puss never wantf: for warmth, aqd never needs to
seek a fireside for it. She settles herself dowp
upon the bonnet of a taxi which hasi just
come in fr«ni a run, and which is 1 usuu }y
as warm as toast. Occasionally she will
perch upon the radiator, but is most careful to test
the heat of it first. Notwithstanding her liking
for warmth, puss is a very cool cat so far as motors
are concerned, for as often as not she will
settle down on the garage floor quite heedless of
the ears that pass over her as they ron in and out.
She is pretty canny, though, and when on the floor
is always careful to select the centre scat out of
the track of the wheels. The drivers know and
care for their black mascot, rsnd consequently take
care never to injure her.
The invitation run to Mr. Gerald Buckley's beautiful
estate at
Maccdon,
"Derriweet,"
takes
place
on LWrd September
The hill chosen for the
hillclimb
measures
about
lialf-a-mile,
and
is on
this
side of "Derriweet."
The hill combines the following
gradients : 1 in 7 for (J chains : 1 in '.'5 for 4
chains; I in J1 for 2«l chains; and
1 in 11J for
.10 chains.
A flying start will be permitted.
It
is stated
that
Mr. C.
B. Kellow
will
bring
home with him a Wright
aeroplane.
1 understand that Harry Busteedi is now employed
as an instructor
in aviation
at
Salisbury
Plains,
England.
Mr. Harry Lane has accepted an engagement with
the Italif
ear representatives
here, having
resigned
his position
with the Tarrant
Motors Pty.
Ltd.
Referring to the fearful state of Victorian roads,
the experience of Mr. Williams, well known in motoring
circles, on a trip through to Rochester in
his little F.N. car, are enough to prove, the urgency
of better roads in the State. Mr. Williams was
accomoar.ied bv Mr. M'Krnley, of "Punch," and it
really seen)s that thev had to practically- make their
own road as they went in some parts of the
country. Occasionally the car would take a dive
into mud that quite covered the dumbirons. and'-it

would need the combined strength ol the engine
and human pushing to get It out of the mire..
Once or twice a horse had to be called to the
Mscue, and at other times Mr. Williams would cut
down saplings and build an improvised roadway as
he went. Motorists who ars enthusiasts refer to
journeys of this kind as part of the joys of motoring,
but to the man whose time is limited the joy
begins to pall pretty quickly. Not only are such
roads a hindrance to the motorist, but They mean
the one great drawback to the raaa in the country
who has to use them continually whilst struggling
lor his livelihood.
1 notice that a good few motorists are adopting
a neat leather cover to fit over the horn bulb on
their cars. The idea is a good one, as it preserves
the rubber of the bulb, and, consequently,
means' economy in the general economical schemo of
upkeep of the car.
The newest scheme (suggested. I believe, by Hy.
. Sturnicy, of the "Motor") in fitting high front
doors is to have them so arranged that in summertime
they may be made to unhinge easily. Of
course, in arranging for the fitting of doors detachable
at will the idea should be. that they
should always leave a neat appearance to the car
when removed. This could certainly be arranged
by an expert body builder, wno ^ould give special
thought and care to the doors when being fitted.
The Hon. Simon Fraser, who is one of our first
motorists, recently took delivery of a new (55 h.p.
six-cylinder Napier ia London. The honourable
gentleman already possesses a 40 h.p. Napier,
which he l^ft behind him when leaving for his trip
to London /or the Coronation festivities.
Two accidents in one day should be quite enough
fun for n motorist. One morning a car bumped
heavilv into a lorry, doing some little damage lu
the car generally. The? same afternoon the same
car bumped a human being, and this time it was
1(1(1 cm- that suffered least, though the owner, no
doubt, suffered somewhat in mind over his ill-luck.
H was decided by law some time ago that, motor
cars were at liberty to pass tramcars running in
thr same direction on the right side, in Swan-
Kton-stree't recently the driver of a motor ear, in
a fearful hurry, endeavoured to pass a tram running
ahead of him by diving round to the right
of it. The result was peculiar, for he almost hit
a tram coming towards him unexpectedly. Then,
in order to avert a collision, he dashed right to
the opposite side oi the street, where two ladies
stood huddled together waiting a sudden death.
Hy another quick turn he headed upwards in front
of Flinders-lane, and his engine stopped. No accident
occurred', but some very narrow shaves were
incountered, and big block in the traffic resulted.
The driver will remember in future, though, that
sudden dashes for short cuts in the busv hour on
Swanston-street are not always wise.
1 was thinking o' the incident of the. kangaroo
taking possession or :i ear in W.A. as 1 strolled
through Bourke-stnvt. recently when the sight of ii
white horse being carried on a motor waggon
arrested my attention. For the moment, liko many
other pedestrians, 1 imagined the horse was a live
one. I discovered upon a nearer view that it was
onlv a stuffed white horse being carried along on
one of the Marshall Shoe Co.'s Coming lorries.
J presume it was another of that company's startling
advertisements,- and it was a good one. The,
sight of a horse being carried by a motor car
created much amusement to the passers-by, as today
is the. day of the passing of the horse and the
incoming of mechanical street locomotion.
The motor tricycle is receiving attention bv
several firms these days for express delivery purposes.
and these iittle box cars, with the driver
seated in the rear, ;\re besoming quite a common
sight on the roads now.
If tile, dav ii: to conic when the. petrol combustion
engine will' prove as flexible as the steam engine,
it will be a happy day for the motorist. An Italian
invention will shortly be . placed jpon the market
for which great claims are made. The innovation
is one that provides a variable stroke engine, controlled
from the steering wheel. This control regulates
the stroke of the pistons in the cylinders and
the volume of the mixture, and the engine's speed
is affected. For three years the inventors have been
working upon this ^reat idea, and the result sought
has been achieved. Should this success be proved,
it means that the motorist will be aided in traffic,
and will not be bothered with gear-changing. It
means that the expensive gear-box will no longer
be required, and the flexibility of the engine will

permit of a speed reduced to a minimum, controlled
aione by a throttle lever on his steering wheel.
Should the success be proved, it also means that
the present pattern of car will need some alterations
to bring it up-to-date
The success attending the recent Prince Henry
tour over portion of the Continent of Europe and
Great Britain suggests to my mind that the motorists
of N.S.W., Victoria and Tasmania might
brighten their lives by a great tour of portion of
Australia. 1 have named these three States because
it is possible for their combination in such
a tour. The Victorian motorists could go up to
Sydnev aDd there meet the N.S.W. contingent. Together"
they could make a triumphant march down
to Melbourne, thence ship to Tasmania, and, with
the Tasmanian motorists, could tour the Island of
the South. The suggestion might appear a big one
and too much for the general car-owner. But the
control of the tour coald bs undertaken by the
Automobile Clubs of these three States, and confined
to members only. The motorist with two or
three weeks to spare in the year would willingly
join in a combined tour, and it would do much towards
bringing the clubs together. The arrangements
could include invitation visits to station
homes en route, a hill-climb or two, a reliability
test, a gymkhana, and many social reunions.
On 28th April last 1,077,15o people entered the
City of London, while the vehicles numbered < .>4,0V»5,
of which latte: 13,915 were mechanically operated.
In J 89J the number of vehicles 'interim? the City
of London was 92,372. of whioh cabs numbered
J 8,020, and omnibuses 10.389. London is getting
greatly worried about how it is to accommodate
traffic if it grows much greater than at present.

An entrance fee of 5/ "will be charged by the Automobile
Club for the hill-climb on 23rd September.
Entries will close on 20th Sept. Cars will be
weighed at Essendon weighbridge (near the railway
sub-way) between half-past twelve and one o'clock.
Tile weight will- include passengers and equipment.
It is possible in the near future that we may
have a good number of hansom-taxis on our streets.

AJraadty a suit*ftl» iBkarvAitf? Kae0&u,: miiharikBa*
propelled, has been iiikA. 'U/ifI fjjttia to be .frfAMKful
I have seen * ls»P*trilBper beanfiamPtstxl In
Melbourne, but not -«f -fWfc-'" - TO ttowrwheel car.
though. If introduced, might ooifie t# stay,'- as it
could be rnn more eoonon&aally than'the four-wheel
type. It means reduction in tyro bill, and the
simplification and reduction of parts' will reduce the

e«»t ef running. . ; Tbe -refer is th® *tjrlvlng
aM. oo&e^u^aUy^o^diffeteDtl^i is' required.
OWing. to the
-motpr gcefdeuts that have
o</tfHrrefi of late, one -of the leading motoring companies
has notified all persons jn its emploj that
extreme cars must be taken whilst driving on the
roads , at all time9.
The annual West Australian Test Race from Bcv-
•rley to Perth (116 .miles) was helfi last Saturday,
and produced the finest road contest yet held in
Western Australia. Sixty-six riders faced the
starter, and forty-two finished the course, one of
the most trying in Australia. The winner turned
up in fi. M. Gray (Perth), who was in receipt of
AS rains, handicap, find covered the coursc in 6 hr.
2 win. H. JUdley (Kalgoorlie). off 34 min., finished
second, with F. Schryver (Penh), off 40 min.,
third. Fastest time was established by A. Kaiser,
who started off the 17 min. mark aud finished
seventh, riding: the 116 miles in 5 hr. 58 min.
32 1-5 sec., a record for the course, the previous
fastest being A. Pianta's <> hr. 0 min. 30 see.,
established in 1909. Of the scratch division, comprising
A. E. Wright. C. J. Senior, J. M'Sweeney,
end A. J. Davies (Vic.), the first-named two only .
finished, Wright running fifteenth, in «> hr. 4 min..
and Senior twenty-second, in 0 hr. 18 min. Unfortunately,
A. Kaiser, who put up such a fine performance
and won the right of representing Western
Australia in the Dunlop Company's big Australasian
Road Race from Warrnambool to, Melbourne,
will not be able to get away, consequently the
W .A. League of Wheelmen will have to nominate
another rider io take his place, probably C. J.
Senior or A. E. Wright. A striking feature of the
race was that every prize was won on Dunlop tyres,
every rider out of ;tbe iorty-two that finished, with
the exception of the thirty-second, riding these
tyres. The winner. Gray, intends competing in the
"Warrnambool;"
A splendid response has been made by cyclists
and motor-cyclist6 in connection with the call for
volunteers by the Dunlop Rubber Company for their
big Relay Despatch Ride to be held from Adelaide
to Sydney next Easter. Applications . have come in
all along the 114'J miles* route,, in addition to
volunteers from places hundreds of miles away
from the overland course; and, the difficulty the
Dunlop Company . will' be faced • with will be the
selection of the best cyclists and motor-cyclists out
of hundreds of .applications. The • Mount (Jambier
Cycle Club (S.A./ has offered to provide despatchbearers,
both bicycle and -motor-cycle, for a distance
of 135 miles, starting at Kingston (S.A.) and finishing
at Ardrio (Vic;); whilst ten motor-cyclists
from Wagga (N.S.W.) have offered their services.
As showing the. great Interest taken in the Despatch
Hide, four motor-cyclists of Newcastle (New
South Wales) have offered to ride 230 miles south,
down to Goulburn, and become acquainted with sections
of the route if they arc selected for the contest.
Arrangements for the great match between
cars, motor-cycles and bicycles across the three
States are progressing satisfactorily, and a definite
arrangement as to the relays, etc.. will be
made ai an early, date-
The premier New Zealand road event, the Dunlop
Road Race from Christchurch to Timaru, which
is Bet down for running on Thursday, 7th September,
drew 150 entries, including all the finest road
riders in the Dominion. The rider establishing
fastest time will compete as the accredited New
Zealand representative in the forthcoming "Warrnambool."
It is anticipated that a strong contingent
of New Healanders will comc across for this
big event.

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