Out and Home.—By "The Extractor."
Page 17
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The competition for a suitable name to describe the three-wheeled business vehicle has now been deeided. As the names came in they were typed on successive sheets. A goodly list indeed was the result, but the suitable names in our judgment were but few. A selection was finally made of half-a-dozen names ; these consisted of the following: Boxcart, Boxcar, Parcelear, Triplex, Trivan, Tricart. These were eventually reduced to two, and then our little committee, which included the Editor, plumped unanimously for PARCELCAR.
Then I went in search of the original letters containing the suggested name, and found they had been left at my residence. It was quite interesting some while afterwards to plod through the letters and to find who was the lucky man. I remembered that Sir John Macdonald, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, wrote to me suggesting Boxcar, and the proposer of Triplex was remembered by me, but not. the originator of the other names. I had to go through them carefully to see that " Parcelcar " was not sent in by more than one person, as was the case with many of the names. Anyhow, a search shows that. it has only occurred to one person. and oddly enough that dis
tinguished individual has merely given me his initials and nary an address, so I will ask Mr. " J.B.," who sent in a postcard dated 6th May, 1912, to disclose both his identity and his abode, so that the cheque for two guineas can be forwarded to him. it may be said that soon after this competition was announced I intimated that the use of the word " car " was hardly suitable, as the three-wheeled vehicle could scarcely be described as a car, but authorities seem to be at variance on this point, so that detail has been waived, especially as nothing more suitable has reached us.
An agricultural show in a rain which was at times nearly tropical would be a dismal place if it were not for the friendliness of it. all, and the welcome shelter which is soon afforded one. I went down to Guildford by road, and a depression seemed like setting in when I had to dispense half-a-crown for garaging a small car on the Show grounds. Anyhow, I found other friends, and one was a Scotsman, too, paying cheerfully, so I suppose
it was all right Before I was allowed to go and look at any steam and petrol vehicles. I was persuaded to go to view the jumping, and for one hour in a steady drizzle I watched those horses do everything but jump. They pirouetted, galloped, trotted, they formed up before the judges, so I escaped from my captors and went down the familiar lines. Mr. James Barford, of Barford and Perkins, Ltd., was there with news recently received of a nice order for 12 motor rollers for abroad. Foden's, Mann's, Tasker's, Garrett's and Burrell's were well represented with steam wagons, and Clayton and Shuttleworth's told us they expected to be ready with a new wagon for the Royal Show. John Fowler's were but reticent as usual about their future plans. At any rate they will be showing an oil tractor at the Royal. Dennis Bros. had a good exhibit with petrol lorries and a fire engine. I was sorry to learn that Mr. Raymond Dennis returned to work too soon, and is hors de combat again. Wallis and Steevens, Marshall's, of Gainsborough, and Thomas Green and Son, Ltd., were in evidence. W. H. Willcox and Co., Ltd., the oil people, have a good stand, and on the day I was there the genial principal of this firm was in command. Mr. Arthur Drummond, whose lathe works are adjacent to the site of the Royal Counties Show, was an interested visitor.