[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2]
Here is a design of a chair-sleigh, which can easily be constructed, and
which will enable some of the ladies who do not skate to have a very
pleasant time on the ice. The runners (see Fig. 1) are thirty-nine
inches long, and are shod with iron for their whole length. They are
about thirteen inches apart, and are braced in three places, namely, at
the back, at the front, and in the middle (directly under the front legs
of the seat). The foot-boards are two inches wide by five-eighths of an
inch thick. The seat is about fifteen inches square, and strengthened
underneath before and behind. The legs of the seat are fifteen inches
high, and are fastened to the runners and the seat by hinges, which
allow the seat to fall forward over the foot-board, as shown in Fig. 2.
In like manner the long arms, instead of being firmly fixed, work on a
round iron rod, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, connecting the
runners in front. The arms are fifty inches long, and are mortised into
the back piece, which is twenty-five inches long by two inches and
seven-eighths wide, thus leaving a few inches at each end for handles.
The arms are connected by a cross-piece in such a position that when the
seat is perpendicular, the cross-piece shall rest upon little brackets
placed on the front legs. This cross-piece has a screw-hole in it, by
which it is screwed to the front brace of the seat, thus firmly securing
the whole.
To fold the chair for carrying to and from the pond, draw the screw and
raise the arms, and the seat will fall forward between the arms and
under the cross-piece, as shown in Fig. 2. The advantages of this
chair-sleigh over an ordinary chair on runners are that it is perfectly
safe, does not interfere with the action of the skater who is pushing
it, and can be easily carried in the hand or in a carriage.