260 



GLEANINGS IN KEE CULTURE. 



Ai'i:. I. 



believer lis you in tho, practical usefulness and 

 possibilities of the bicycle, and I tliink that the 

 use at present made of it is only a beginning, 

 and that the nc^xt few years will see a devel- 

 opment of it that in itself and in its results 

 will be of the highest importance to the world. 

 A Harvard professor, in a recent speech, de- 

 clared that the invention of the bicycle deserv- 

 ed to rank next in social importance to that of 

 the railroad and the telegraph: and I think- 

 that all who will carefully consider the possi- 

 bilities of the bicycle, what it has already be- 

 gun to do, and the effect that these things will 

 have on society as at present constituted, must 

 agree with him. The way to help the wheel to 

 take its proper position in the world's regard is 

 by just such practical uses and recommenda- 

 tions as you and some of your correspondents 

 have been giving it. Mr. Walter Harmer may 

 meet with some ridicule and a great deal of 

 " chaff " in using the wheel for delivering hon- 

 ey, but he is on the right track. By the way, 

 I once carried a crate of comb honey five miles 

 on a wheel. That was in the days of solid tires, 

 too, but not a comb was injured. I believe I 

 was the first to call attention to the value of the 

 wheel to bee-keepers in visiting out-apiaries. 

 During the past season I have found it very 

 valuable for that purpose, enabling me to get 

 along with two horses instead of three, which 

 I would otherwise have needed, besides saving 

 a great deal of time by its greater speed and 

 convenience. 



Riding the bicycle is one of the most enjoya- 

 ble of sports; but that is not all. It is one of 

 the most healthful forms of exercise; but that 

 is not all. It is one of the fastest, cheapest, 

 and most convenient methods of travel; but 

 that is not all. Too many people still i)ersist 

 in regarding the wheel as an expensive play- 

 thing, a toy which only the rich can afford, and 

 which will be thrown aside as soon as whatthey 

 are pleased to call the present " craze " is over. 

 What we need is to pound it into the heads of 

 these people that the wheel is one of the most 

 practically useful inventions ever produced. 



In England the wheel is said to be used liter- 

 ally by "the butcher, the baker, the candle- 

 stick maker," and for the most practical pur- 

 l)oses. It must be confessed that England is 

 ahead of us in most matters relating to the 

 wheel. They have there one cyclist to every 93 

 inhabitants. Here we have only one to every 

 309. If the tremendous rate of increase shown 

 last year is continued long, with the good roads 

 that the influence of the wheel is already be- 

 ginning to give us we shall soon be up to them 

 in this respect. 



It is said that there is already more rubber 

 used in making bicycle-tires than for any other 

 one purpose— more than for rubber boots, over- 

 shoes, and clothing. Perhai)S the reason for 

 this is, that the rubber used in their manufac- 

 ture must be really rubber instead of a conglom- 

 eration of adulterations. 



At i)resent the racer and the fast road-rider 

 are at the front in cycling matters. The man- 

 ufacturers cater to them, and the development 

 of the practical uses of the wheel receives but 

 little attention. This is to be deplored, because, 

 while these men are doing some good by calling 

 attention to some of the possibilities of the 

 wheel, there are many who hold aloof from cy- 

 cling just because of their follies. The "mon- 

 key on a stick " position assumed by those who 

 think it necessary to ride a mile in the least 

 l)0ssible number of seconds, will undoubtedly 

 often have grave physical evils as its conse- 

 quence. Very likely, also, many will be injured 

 by the overstrain of competition in races and 

 long exhausting rides; but used with a proper 

 degree of moderation and common sense, I be- 



lieve there is no more healthful form of exer- 

 cise. I think, too, there is nothing of which 

 one is less likely to tire. I began to ride the 

 wheel eleven years ago, and with some inter- 

 vals have been a rider ever since. I enjoy rid- 

 ing to-day more than in the beginning, and I 

 am stronger, healthiei'. and heavier than ever 

 before. In fact. I am droulf^My healthy, with 

 an appetite for which three meals a day is 

 hardly enough. 



Many people imagine a wheel can be used 

 during the summer months only. I have been 

 using my wheel all winter, and have heard my- 

 self referred co as the fellow who uses his bi- 

 cycle as much in the winter as in the summer. 

 During the very stormy and cold month of Jan- 

 uary I used my wheel every day except five, 

 riding from two to ten miles every day. It was 

 pleasanter than walking or driving, and I saved 

 time by it. Most of this was on city streets and 

 pavements, though one day I rode ten miles 

 over country roads in one of the worst snow- 

 storms of the season. On well-i)acked snow, a 

 pneumatic wheel runs almost as easily as on a 

 good gravel road; and the expert rider finds ice, 

 even of the slipi)eriest kind, most enjoyable 

 riding. Nothing but extremely rough roads or 

 soft, dee|) mud or sand, can stop a good rider on 

 a modern wheel. 



Say a good word for the wheel whenever you 

 can. Gi,p:anings is " devoted to home inter- 

 ests," and there are few things that in them- 

 selves and in their results are more likely to 

 advance home interests than an increased use 

 of the wheel. J. A. Green. 



Ottawa, LaSalle Co., 111., Feb. 23. 1893. 



RECOLLECTIONS AND EXPERIENCES ; BY AN 

 OLD BEE-JOURNAL EDITOR. 



EXTRACTING, QUEEN-RKARING, ETC. 



At the time we parted, our colonies were 

 ready to extract. Before we start, a few prepa- 

 rations are necessary. The need of a good hon- 

 ey-extractor is self-evident. Formerly wv 

 stored new honey in heavy oak barrels; but the 

 leakage under any and all circumstances made 

 this unprofitable. Now we own several forty- 

 gallon heavy tin cans, the kind used to carry 

 milk to checjse- factories. Small enough to go 

 inside, we cut a board; to this we nail thin ceil- 

 ing, to rest on the edge of the can and secure a 

 tight cover. A l}a-inch hole is bored through 

 this cover. A smaller hole is made in the bot- 

 tom of a fourteen or sixteen quart pan. and a 

 tube about two inches long is soldered on. A 

 piece of tinned wire cloth is cut to a circle, and 

 tin-bound. This rests upon a few strips in the 

 bottom of the pan. Several ordinary ch(>ese- 

 cloth strainers are provided, one of which rests 

 on the wire cloth to receive and strain the hon- 

 ey. This pan is now ready to stand upon the 

 can-cover. 



A smalh'r tin can had a shallow pan. with 

 wire-cloth bottom, resting upon its open top. A 

 wooden bar is provided across the pan, upon 

 which to rest the frames for uncapping. After 

 cutting oft" the cappings they drop into this 

 pan. A pail or dish of water is indispensable 

 now. You consider us eccentric; but we think 

 that, for dislodging bees from the combs, noth- 

 ing equals a wing made from two or three gen- 

 uine turkey-quills — the primaries from the 

 wings. These are laid over each other in proper 

 form; a piece of tape is wound closely around, 

 and several stitches taken to hold all firmly. 

 We were amused to note that one of the Cali- 

 fornia bee-keepers recommended these, and he 

 refers to the great advantage gained by wetting 

 them frequently. We add, that, to draw this 



