JUNE 15, 1913 



419 



facing in the same direction. In either case the en- 

 trance should be contracted. 



If TFork is already partly begun in the super, the 

 bees will continue work, and rush the honey above. 

 In some cases it may be advisable to use perforated 

 zinc between the super and brood-nest to keep the 

 queen below. 



It is encouragiug to note that Dr. Miller 

 still thinks favoi'ably of the shake-swarm 

 plan. Some years ago it was believed that 

 this method was going to solve this much- 

 mooted problem more fully, perhaps, than 

 any thing else that has been proposed ; but 

 of late years we have not heard so much 

 about it — not because we supposed it is not 

 in use, but rather because it was so much 

 discussed years ago that many users of the 

 method think it unnecessary to keep harp- 

 ing about it. But it occurred to us that the 

 shake-swarm method might be profitably 

 discussed again — that is, as to whether it 

 lias been a success as it originally promised. 



So far as we can see, Dr. Miller is en- 

 tirely orthodox — that is, he has set forth 

 the general principles governing the laws 

 of swarming, and the beginner will do well 

 to read very carefully what he has to say. 

 —Ed.] 



SOME SEASONABLE DONT'S TO THE OWNERS 

 OF AUTO TRUCKS 



BY ROBERT MCLEAN 



Having noticed Mr. D. L. Woodward's 

 article on auto truck for migTatory bee- 

 keeping, Apr. 1, p. 213, I will give a few 

 suggestions which may be of use to him. 



Mr. Woodward speaks of his first sea- 

 son's experience being pleasant but quite 

 expensive. Well, that is the case with most 

 people in their first season's use, but with 

 a large number the pleasant part is omitted. 

 1 rom the appearance of his car and the 

 horse2:>ower he must terribly overload it or 

 the engine is not in the proper condition if 

 lie uses a gallon of gasoline for six miles. 

 Usually with a car of 40 or 45 H. P., double 

 the milage he obtains from a gallon of gas- 

 oline is not considered any thing unusual. 

 Although the care and condition of the en- 

 gine goes a long way toward obtaining the 

 proper milage, there are numerous causes 

 which would tend toward excessive con- 

 sumption of fuel. 



First, if the carburetor is not properly 

 adjusted it will cause the engine to burn 

 gasoline without gettinig good results, and 

 would cause an excessive deposit of carbon 

 in the cylinder. 



Leaky piston rings or valves cause loss 

 of compression, likewise a loss of gasoline 

 vapor. The remedy is to use new piston 

 rings or grinding in the valves. 



If the spark is not kept well advanced 

 while running, the consumption of fuel will 

 be greater than when operating under an 

 advanced spark. On some cars the throttle 

 can be opened so the ear goes about 15 miles 

 per hour on retarded spark, and by ad- 

 vancing the spark the speed can be doubled 

 without any increase in fuel consumption. 



As a general rule, converted touring ears 

 are not very successful when oi^erated as 

 trucks, because the owner usually thinks 

 that a touring car having from 30 to 60 

 H. P. can carry a load on its chassis equal 

 to a truck of the same power. Overloading 

 is death to pneumatic tires — in fact, any 

 tire, even a solid one, will not give satisfac- 

 tory service when overloaded, and the same 

 applies to the car as well as the tires. 



From all appearances Mr. Woodward 

 has an extremely heavy body on his car, 

 which, when loaded, will account for some 

 of his cost of operating and upkeej). A 

 commercial body placed on a car should not 

 be any heavier than the touring body it re- 

 placed, and better if not as heavy, if it can 

 be built substantially enough without ex- 

 cessive weight. 



It is not considered good practice to have 

 the bod}^ overhang at the rear more than 

 one-third of the total length of body, as it 

 puts too great a weight on the rear wheels, 

 resulting in excessive tire wear, which every 

 one owning an automobile knows is expen- 

 sive. 



I think that, if a person secures a sturdy 

 car of some good reliable make, and has 

 convertible bodies, one for pleasure and 

 another for commercial work, with a rea- 

 sonable amount of care they can be oj^erated 

 more economical^ than a team of horses, 

 considering the amount of work done and 

 the larger territory it enables one to cover. 



There is undoubtedly a great future for 

 the light truck in the beekeepers' line of 

 work in nearly all parts of the country. I 

 have had considerable experience in the 

 manufacture and repair of cars. 



South Haven, Mich. 



SPRING MANAGEMENT 



Caution Regarding Early Manipulation 



BY CHAS. H. CARGO 



When I began beekeeping it was with a 

 clear board — no designs of the art, good, 

 bad, nor indifferent, clouded my views. I 

 had no knowledge of either the box hive, 

 Langstroth hive, Danzenbaker hive, nor any 

 other Jiive. Viewing my assets in. this light 

 I discovered that this negative fact was of 

 real value, as I was not called upon to part 



