1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



83 



AN AUTOMOBILE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. 



through the daily papers noticed a single-cylin- 

 der machine advertised for $100. On exami- 

 nation it proved to be in good condition, and 

 was bought. After a season's use it was found 

 to be satisfactory and economical. It is a light 

 touring-car and can go 15 to 20 miles an hour. 

 Every Sunday it is used for going to church, and 

 it takes entire charge of carrying to any place the 

 writer's family, which consists of nine in all. It 

 makes 12 to 15 miles per hour with this load, and 

 beats any farmer's team of trotters with half the 

 load. 



Now as for the use that an automobile can be 

 put to in an apiary. The second picture shows 

 how the machine can be arranged to saw firewood 

 and make hives and fixtures. The car is raised 

 in the rear, and a four-inch belt is put directly 

 on the tire of one of the wheels, and the other 

 wheel is prevented from turning by blocking it 

 or fastening it with a rope. The speed is just 

 right for an 18-inch saw. Quite a thick log can 

 b« cut. The cylinder-cooling system has to be 

 connected by means of a hose with a larger tank 

 or barrel filled with water, for, bv standing still, 

 the air current can not cool the cylinder sufficient- 

 ly. The writer sawed his firewood in this man- 

 ner, and found it very satisfactory. To run the 

 extractor, all the bee-keeper has to do is to pro- 

 ject a shaft through the honey-house, with a 

 small pulley, to produce a slower speed. 



If one wishes to pump a large amount of water 

 he can procure a belt pump, connect it up, and then 

 he has a gasoline pumping-outfit In case of out- 

 apiaries the bee-keeper can take off the body of 

 the machine in a short while and put a home- 



made platform in its place to hold hives, cans, 

 barrels, and other paraphernalia, and he can get 

 there in a hurry. 



In the writer's opinion one of the single-cylin- 

 der machines is the handiest one for all-around 

 purposes. The price should be no objection. 

 They can be bought from $100 up, second-hand. 



In regard to running it, there is no more trou- 

 ble about it than in running an ordinary gaso- 

 line-engine used on farms. If any one studies 

 carefully the functions of the different parts, and 

 is careful in handling the machine, it should last 

 a good many years. The running expenses are 

 very low. We drove nearly 600 miles within 

 the last 6 months, and the expense for mainte- 

 nance was $9.00. If the amount were twice as 

 much it would not equal the expense of a horse 

 and wagon. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 



[We know of quite a number of bee-keepers 

 who use an automobile in their business, and 

 find it a practical machine. We think that the 

 price paid by our correspondent was unusually 

 low, however. Second-hand runabouts can often 

 be purchased for $100; but a second-hand light 

 touring-car like the one shown would ordinarily 

 cost from three to four hundred dollars. 



It is entirely practicable to use the machine for 

 power; but a belt should be put on each rear 

 wheel; for when one wheel is held in the manner 

 described, while the other does the work, a very 

 severe strain is put on the differential gears, which 

 would very soon wear them out, and it would 

 mean a big expense to renew them. — Ed.] 



