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S'POSE most folks will be surprised to learn that a woman as old as I, forty-five, should take a trip on the back of a motorcycle. Most of the neighbors were astonished beyond measure when they heard cf it but I don't care, because I had "the time of my life," as the boys say.

One of my sons had a motorcycle nearly a year before he bought the second seat to carry tandem. He is rather a quiet boy and didn't go with the girls much so he didn't need it. But one day a happy idea struck him and he said, "Mother, I'm going to buy a, second seat for my motorcycle and take you riding."

"Mercy, mercy, Harry, you're not going to do anything of the kind," I complained.

"But I am, Mother, I have already ordered the attachment and it will be here in a few days."

Now maybe you think I wasn't a little nervous.

I had seen one or two motorcycles carrying

double, but every time I saw one, I made up my mind more firmly that it was no place for a girl to ride, to say nothing of an older woman.

I pictured myself on that machine, back of Harry, spinning along the turnpike at a great rate, but the end of the picture was invariably the same: a motorcycle and two people tumbling down Martin's hill.

The seat finally came, and I protested again, but Harry coaxed and teased and told me there was no danger and that there was all kinds of fun and pleasure and everything else nice he could think of. Finally, he said he would take me out to the barn and give me a ride from there to the house, and if I didn't like it, he'd never ask me to ride again. I thought that was a good way to settle the whole matter so I consented. I dug out the riding habit from the bottom of my old trunk. It was the one I used when I was a girl, but it fitted quite well. We went to the barn and with my heart in my mouth I mounted the back seat. Harry had the engine going when I got on, and we started off just as easily as a railroad train.

I thought that I would fall off the first thing, but it wasn't hard balancing at all. In fact, it was just as easy as riding a horse.

When we got nearly to the house, Harry asked, "Do you want to go farther?”

""Tisn't bad," I admitted, and he turned into the road.

He was driving very carefully and I must say that I was beginning to enjoy the ride. We went down to the corner, and then he asked me if I didn't want to ride over to Martin's.

"Why, Harry," I objected, "I haven't got my dinner dishes washed yet."

"Oh, that's all right, Mother, I'll help you do them when we get back."

So on we went over to Martin's.

"What's that little clock arrangement on the handlebars?" I asked.

"That tells how fast we are going, Mother. You see, our speed now is twenty miles an hour." "Mercy me, Harry, I didn't know we were going so fast. Why, it isn't so dangerous after

all, is it?"

Mrs. Martin was almost thunderstruck when she saw me on the back seat of a motorcycle and she said so, but I told her she ought to try it. She said she would walk a dozen miles before she'd ride one of those things.

After we left Martin's we drove into town and rode all around. I had the best sight seeing trip. I had experienced for months. When we go in with the team, it seems like we don't have time to drive around to see the new houses, but the motorcycle runs so fast and so easily that it's just fun to drive all over town.

As long as we were there, I did my shopping and we carried the things home in the pockets on the side of the mud guards.

When we got home I looked at the clock and decided that my eyes were failing or else the clock had stopped, for the hands pointed to two o'clock. I picked up the clock and held it to my ear and found that it was running all right. Then I went in and looked at the parlor clock and saw that it sure enough was only two. We had been for all that ride, about fifteen miles in all, and had been gone away from home only an hour.

That trip settled my mind. I ride with Harry everywhere now, and we go every minute we can spare. I don't know of anything more inthe back seat of a motorcycle. vigorating and more enjoyable than riding on

A peculiar phenomenon in connection with the salmon industry is that once in four years there is a great run of these fish which is eight to ten times as great as the run in an ordinary year. The present year witnessed one of these great runs and the canners of the Columbia River put up over two million cases whereas in an ordinary year they only put up about two hundred thousand cases.

Governments were created for the purpose of helping, not hampering, the people of a country.

a subsidy to the owners of commercial cars capable of carrying a useful load of either three tons or thirty hundredweights, providing that these cars conform to a certain standard as fixed by specifications. In order to meet the requirements on the part of private owners for a chassis and propelling equipment that will if necessary be available for the War Office subsidy, various manufacturers have built commercial cars in accordance with the government specifications, and we are able to illustrate in figures 1 and 2, a type

one side, the valve stems being enclosed by dusttight covers which are readily removable so that the accessibility of the valves and cylinder holding down bolts is not affected. The induction and exhaust valves are interchangeable. The crank shaft is carried in three gun metal bearings, white metal lined. The connecting rods are of "I" section, the large end being fitted with gun metal bearings, lined with white metal, and the smaller with a hard gun metal bush. The pistons are of cast iron with case hardened steel

of commercial chassis which is built by one of the foremost manufacturers, the Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Company, Ltd., of Birmingham, in order to comply with the requirements of the above mentioned scheme. The smaller type is capable of carrying a load including the body of fifty-five hundredweights, which permits a useful load of forty hundredweights, while the larger type takes a total load of four and a half tons, allowing a useful load of three and a half tons. The frame dimensions are suitable for fitting the usual type of van and lorry bodies. In order to enable repairs to be carried out in service as rapidly as possible, accessibility of the parts of the vehicle has been carefully studied and all exposed moving parts are well protected by dust shields or other means, while care has been taken to promote easy cleaning. The motor in both types has four vertical cylinders and is provided with a governor set to prevent the engine speed from exceeding 1,000 revolutions per minute. The motor in the larger type is four and five-eighths inch bore by five and one-eighth inch stroke, and is rated at 34.2 horse power, while the motor of the smaller type is four inch bore by five and one-eighth inch stroke and is rated at 25.6 horse power.

The cylinders are of cast iron cast in

gudgeon pin and three cast iron rings. The cam shaft is turned with cams from a solid bar, the cams being case hardened and the shaft being driven by silent chains from the crank shaft. The valve tappets are fitted with adjustable heads lined with fiber. The lower portion of the crank chamber can be removed without disturbing the main bearings, and inspections doors are provided in the crank chamber to get at the big end bearings.

The ignition is by a high tension magneto of water-tight pattern provided with variable timing, the sparking plugs being placed over the induction valves of the engine. A single switch provided with a key is fitted on the dashboard and a useful detail is that the ignition wires are of different color to facilitate the making of correct connections. The carburetor is of the constant depression type, the quality of the mixture being maintained at all speeds. It is fed by gravity and designed to use petrol having a density not exceeding 0.76. It is water jacketed to maintain the correct working temperature. The positively driven gear pump lubricates all parts of the motor. The main bearings are fed from the oil pump; a sight feed drip indicator is fitted on the dashboard; an oil level cock is

fitted on the pump to show the correct amount of oil when filling, and a strainer box is provided with the oil pump suction, the gauze being easily removable from inspection and cleaning.

The cooling is effected by means of a radiator in front of the motor, the water circulation being maintained by a centrifugal pump and additional air draught for the radiator is provided by a fan driven from the engine. The clutch is of the leather faced cone type fitted with ball thrust and operated by the left pedal, the drive from the clutch to the gear box being by a universally jointed shaft. The gear box itself provides four forward speeds and one reverse, the fourth speed being a direct drive. The gears are nickel-steel, case hardened, placed in an aluminum case. The change speed is operated by one lever working in

a counter shaft carrying the differential, through which spur gears drive the live axle shafts. The whole arrangement is contained in an oil-tight case in the center of the axle. The differential gear is of the spur type with three sets of pinions, the bearings being of gun metal, with ample surfaces and ball thrusts where necessary. The hub bearings are floating bushes running on the ends of the axle tubes, the driving shafts not taking any weight.

The steering is irreversible through a worm and sector which are adjustable for wear. The connecting rod of the axle is provided with adjustable ball joints. The steering cross rod is behind the axle, and has knuckle joints fitted with hardened steel bushes, each joint being provided with a separate grease cap. The move