454 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July 15 



of them to make one strong colony before 

 giving them a virgin. 

 Fresno, Cal., May oL 



AUTOMOBILES AND MOTOR CYCLES FOR 

 OUT-APIARY WORK. 



limit of investment of a motor cycle. If we 

 allow for ten i)er cent depreciation and six 

 per cent for interest, tKis will amount to 

 $;>2.00 a year. Then, moreover, there is 

 only one i)air of tires to take care of, and 

 the tires cost less than half what a single 

 tire would cost for an automobile, and there 



A Combination of Livery Rigs and Motor Cycles 

 the Cheapest for the Average Apiarist. 



BY E. R. ROOT. 



Some little time ago I promised to have 

 something more to say on this subject; but 

 I have been deferring doing so for the time 

 being that I might look into the matter a 

 little further. In the mean time I have 

 been testing out motor cycles. Several of 

 our correspondents of late have mentioned 

 the value of this vehicle as an easy and 

 rapid means in carrying a man to and from 

 the outyards. We accordingly i)urchased a 

 Vale, which is a light powerful machine, 

 and especially adapted for hill-climbing 

 and for rough roads. It is not quite so 

 speedy as some of the other machines; but 

 for our purpose, at least, in view of some 

 of our long hills we thought it better 

 to have a machine especially adapted for 

 grades. For the year 1910, at least, we de- 

 cided to use a motor cycle rather than pur- 

 chase a four-wheeled automobile wagon 

 with solid tires and high wheels, costing in 

 the neighborhood of ?700 or ?S()0. If we 

 would consider interest and de]ireciation on 

 a proposition of this kind the amount would 

 hire a livery for every day for two months. 

 In the matter of outyard transportation, if 

 one ])lans rightly it will not be necessary 

 for him to carry a load to or from the yard 

 more than once or twice a week. In the 

 meantime a man must go to an outyard at 



Ford four-ijasscncer pneiuiiatic- tirid aulomohile 



least once a day in the height of the season, 

 especially if there be danger of swarming. 

 With a motor cycle he can take in the 

 rounds of three or four yards in just a few 

 hours. A machine such as the 'Sale can l)e 

 bought for S-iOO. There are some higher- 

 priced machines, but no l)etter, as the added 

 price only adds to the speed of the machine, 

 so that we may consider that $200 is the 



International Harvester auto wagon with liiKli 

 wheels and solid tires. Well adapted for run- 

 nine on bad roads or in the mud. 



are only half as many of them. Whether 

 we run an automobile or a motor cycle the 

 up-kee}) on the tires and replacement will 

 will be the princii)al items of expense. 

 Gasoline and oil are insignificant items. A 

 good motor cycle ought to go from 75 to 

 100 miles on a single gallon of gasoline; and 

 at a moderate speed to and from the yards 

 of, say, fifteen miles per hour, one can prac- 

 tically bring every outyard into one loca- 

 tion. Now, then, if the stuff is hauled by a 

 livery to and from outyards once or twice a 

 week the motor cycle will take care of all 

 the other visits at far less cost than can pos- 

 sibly be handled by keeping a horse and 

 wagon. If one has his own rig, that is, 

 horse and wagon, there are some six months 

 of the year when the horse is eating his 

 head olf. that is to say, there is a fixed ex- 

 pense going right on, while with a motor 

 cycle tiiere is no loss but depreciation. ( )n 

 the basis of 10 per cent for six months this 

 would be only $10. 

 Taking every 

 thing into con- 

 sideration. I have 

 come to the con- 

 clusion that the 

 average bee-keep- 

 er, if he lives in 

 town, can hire a 

 livery for hauling 

 his loads, and use 

 a motor cycle, 

 which he pur- 

 chases outright, 

 in going to his 

 yards, at far less 

 expense than he 

 can own a horse 

 and buggy or an 

 automobile wag- 

 on. If one were very extensively engaged 

 in keeping bees, and had a series of eight 

 or ten yards, then an automobile wagon 

 and a motor cycle also would come in good 

 play. Both would more than ])ay for the 

 interest and dejireciation on the invest- 

 ment: but if one owns only about three or 

 four yards, the motor cycle will do prac- 

 tically 90 per cent of the work of transpor- 



