1038 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



There is a com^Jete and very fine differ- 

 ential set on the market wiiieh may be pur- 

 chased new for about $18. Very small 

 tractors made with mowing-machine drive- 

 wheels may be provided with a fairly good 

 differential by retaining the compensating 

 gearing in the case about the hubs and re- 

 vei-sing the wheels. The differential prob- 

 lem can also be gotten around by building 

 a three-wheel tractor, with but one wheel 

 beliind, and that the drive-wheel. One good 

 heavy binder-wheel gives a pretty good 

 gi'ound grip that will take a light tractor 

 over most places about an apiary. 



Fig. 5. — One of the two sprocket-wheels here 

 shown should be replaced by a clutch-pulley, and 

 tlie sprocket attached to the loose member of the 

 pulley. 



A regular tractor differential with gear- 

 drive rim is shown at Fig. 2 and a sprocket 

 drive differential at Fig. 3. The ends of 

 the shaft upon which this is mounted pro- 

 ject beyond the frame into line with the 

 bull-sprocket wheel, and the small sprocket 

 at the one end is keyed to the shaft and on 

 the other to the sleeve which is a part of one 

 bevel-gear wheel in the differential, and 

 which runs loosely upon the shaft. Small 

 tractors are sometimes built with drive- 

 chain to but one of the bull-wheels. Then 

 no differential is needed as the free wheel 

 can do all the work of adjustment in turn- 

 ing. On rough ground, even though one 

 gets into difficulty, if the one driving-wheel 

 happens to drop into a hole, or where there 

 is poor footing, its mate is not harnessed up 

 to help it out. The single drive-wheel, too, 

 luiless placed in the center, puts a constant 

 diagonal strain upon the whole tractor. 



The reversing gear is simple — just a 

 double gear-wheel shown in Fig. 4, and 

 mounted loosely upon a shaft under the 

 countershaft pinion with wliich its larger 

 member meshes when the sliding pinion of 

 tlie countershaft is slid to one side out of 

 mesh with the differenticl drive. The small 

 member of the double gear is constantly in 

 mesh with the under side of the differential 

 drire. When the countershaft drive-pinion 

 is also in mesh with the differential it is out 

 of mesh with the reverse gear, and tlie latter 

 runs as an idler, receiving its motion from 

 the differential through its small member. 

 The differential then is running in the di- 



rection opposite from the countershaft, and 

 the reverse gear turns in the opposite direc- 

 tion from the differential or the same direc- 

 tion as the countershaft pinion, which it 

 does not touch. All meshing gear-wheels, 

 it is. to be remembered, run in directions 

 opposite from each other. When the coun- 

 ter-shaft pinion is slid out of mesh with the 

 differential, and into mesh with the larger 

 member of the reverse gear, the latter is 

 driven by it in the direction opposite from 

 that of the pinion, and, in turn, through its 

 smaller member, drives the differential in 

 the direction opposite from itself or in the 

 same direction as the countershaft. This 

 reverses the direction of the tractor. 



If there is a clutch-pulley on the engine, 

 no other will be needed on the tractor, the 

 drive-sprocket of the engine-shaft being se- 

 cured to the loose member of the pulley. 

 Then the clutch can be thrown out and the 

 engine started in the usual manner ; and. 

 after it is running, the clutch can be grad- 

 ually thrown in. Without a clutch on the 

 engine one must be placed upon the coun- 

 tershaft, where the large sprocket is shown 

 in Fig. 5, and the sprocket attached to the 

 loose member of the clutch. A very good 

 light clutch-pulley can be purchased for 

 $10 ; or, if one does not wish to go to that 

 expense, a belt drive can be substituted for 

 the chain drive between engine and counter- 

 shaft ; then by means of a loose belt and 

 tightener the load can be thrown off and 

 picked up very nicely. This drive is not as 

 sure in wet weather nor on bad roads nor 

 under a heavy pull. Sometimes one avoids 

 a breakdown by the hitch between load and 

 engine not being too unyielding. 



Fig.' 6. — By using the old bolt-holes and braoing 

 to frame of casting, an absolutely true and rigid 

 set of bearings can be obtained. 



The shafting for this tractor may all be 

 found in old binders and mowers, as good 

 as new. Nearly always the main shaft is 

 IV2 inches. Where possible to accommodate 

 the gearing to it, by all means retain the 

 cast boxings and frame, or as much of them 

 as is necessary to secure a good unyielding 

 anchorage for the shafts. A frame such as 

 shows at Fig. 6 may require a little more 

 room but will not get out of alignment, and 

 is easily secured to the tractor frame by 

 means of the bolt-holes and the irregular- 

 ities of form against which bracing can be 



