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GOSSIP OF THE TURF. j . I Burns and Waterhouse have secured first call on the services of jockey Waterbury during the eastern season, and he will ride the horses that Charley Patterson is handling. The boy was under engagement all winter to Dr. Rowell, who still retains second call. The Vokes starting machine was given a trial in a mile race at Latonia recently, when thirteen went to the post. Dick Dwyer said after the trial: "The machine is a very good one and acts quickly and smoothly. It has no bad features and goes up without any noise, which I think is a very est sential point in starting machines." .In answer as to whether he had seen the Carr machine in operation at St. Louis, Mr. Dwyer said: "No, I have not, but have heard that it is too cumbersome and it would be almost impossible to move it about, especially when the track is muddy. I saw a stall machine at Nashville in 1895. It was given a trial one morning. The inventor had six stalls provided, and it had .cost him ,000. The first six that were put in came out pretty nicely, but the next six one at a time. This so disgusted the inventor that he left his apparatus lying on the track. "There is a new machine at Chicago that will get a trial at the Harlem meeting, and its the walking start machine. It is so arranged that it " gives the horses a twenty-foot walk before the starter springs the bar-I rier if he seesv fit. The horses line up to it and the starter presses a lever and the machine moves in front of the horses for twenty feet and then can be made to rise clear of the horses. The idea of this machine Is a good one, arid r am much interested to see how it works."— Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. ,
