1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



561 



with it. Push forward with the upper foot, 

 and pull back with the other foot. If you 

 learn the trick you can climb hills without 

 puffing or blowing very much. Now, in place 

 of two cranks suppose we had a dozen, and 

 somebody had hold of each one of Ihe dozen, 

 pulling, not straight ahead, nor up nor down, 

 but right around in that circle all the time. 

 This pulling would not jerk the machine back- 

 ward nor forward nor up nor down. Well, 

 electric transmission turns the press or other 

 machines in the same way. 



Are you curious to know why one motor 

 should go faster and another slower when both 

 are attached to the same wire or set of wires ? 

 Well, it depends up the size of the wire that is 

 used in winding the coils, and also on the way 

 they are wound. Forty years ago I made an 

 electric motor. I studied it up from what lit- 

 tle I could then learn of electricity. My mo- 

 tor was made so as to both push and pull. I 

 first made a very powerful U magnet, or I 

 made a magnet and got a traveling lecturer to 

 charge it for me. Between the bars of this big 

 U magnet a small straight magnet was made 

 to revolve. This straight magnet was charged 

 "by a little battery, by means of a coil of cop- 

 per wire surrounding it. If I sent the current 

 through in one direction, each end of this bar 

 would pull to get close to the poles of the 

 larger magnet ; but just as soon as it got up 

 close to the larger magnet a piece of mechan- 

 ism reversed the current ; then both ends of 

 the little magnet were pushing to get away. 

 After it had made half a circle the current was 

 reversed again, so the thing pushed and pulled 

 alternately, and it made the little shaft hum at 

 such a rate of speed that the young inventor 

 was more astonished than any one else. In 

 fact, after I succeeded in making the machine 

 work to my satisfaction I started out, before I 

 was 18 years old, giving talks to the schools, 

 on electricity and chemistry. So you see it is 

 not very strange that Ernest and Huber take 

 to this new science as ducks do to water ; and 

 it is not very strange, either, that they were 

 able to instruct me in the mysteries that have 

 lately been developed in this new science. 



Now, before closing I wish to touch upon 

 another point. These things are very wonder- 

 ful, as you see. Not only are the brightest 

 and busiest brains in the world at work on all 

 these problems, but they have been long years 

 at them. Almost every day chronicles some 

 new and wonderful fact that has just been 

 worked out. I would honor and reverence 

 Edison, Tesla, and all the other true and 

 faithful workers. Others are looking on. 

 The world is getting a glimpse, more or less, 

 of these wonderful achievements. Yes, and 

 even thieves and swindlers are looking on. 

 The venders of Electropoise and Oxydonor try 

 to make people, who are too busy to notice the 

 difference, believe that they are also honest 

 toilers in developing God's hidden treasures. 

 They bring out something that has on the out- 

 side a resemblance to an electrical apparatus, 

 and laugh in their sleeves at the credulity of 

 mankind in paying them more money for the 

 humbug toy than an honest machine ought to 

 cost. Even at the World's Fair these fellows 



pushed in their claims, and actually had their 

 traps set up alongside of bona-fide scientific 

 apparatus in the buildings devoted to elec- 

 tricity. I presume every honest toiler in true 

 mechanical science blushed for shame when 

 he saw these things, and well he might. Yes, 

 it should make the very blood in one's veins 

 boil with indignation to see the way in which 

 sham was permitted to push its way, and to 

 stand side by side with real science. Well, we 

 are becoming better and better educated every 

 day. Even most of our schoolchildren are too 

 well posted to believe that a single vdre can 

 carry something that will cure all kinds of 

 diseases, and also know that no man living can 

 sit down and write out what the weather will 

 be (so as to put it in his almanac) for a whole 

 year ahead. Great is truth, and will pre- 

 vail. 



AN ELECTRIC BICYCLE- LAMP RUN BY A DY- 

 NAMO CARRIED ON THE WHEEL. 



Since the above was written, a beautiful 

 little apparatus has been placed in my hands 

 for producing an electric light on a wheel. A 

 little dynamo weighing about two pounds is 

 propelled by resting on the rubber tire ; and 

 whenever the wheel is in motion it furnishes 

 a beautiful bright light. The dynamo is a 

 model of simplicity and power in small com- 

 pass, and of small weight. Like my little 

 model of more than forty years ago it is one 

 of the " push - and - pull " kind. It con- 

 sists of seven powerful U m.agnets, and a coil 

 of fine wire revolves between the poles of 

 these magnets. Just think of it — no oil, no 

 fire, no need of matches, and no cost to speak 

 of, for the little lamp will burn 40<) hours, or 

 more than a year, even if you use it every 

 night! The extra power used is so little as to 

 be scarcely perceptible. In fact, I can not 

 see that my wheel runs any harder with it 

 than without it. The trifling disadvantages 

 are, that there is no light except when you 

 are in motion; and if you slack up on account 

 of the roads, the light slacks up correspond- 

 ingly, although there is suflScient, with a very 

 moderate speed, to get along very well. The 

 apparatus is made by the Farnham Electric 

 Co., 59 Clark vSt., Chicago. Price ;?5. 00. The 

 whole thing is exceedingly interesting to me 

 because it comes very near solving the prob- 

 lem of lighting our homes by wind power. A 

 very small windmill would furnish sufficient 

 power to give a powerful light. The only 

 trouble is the irregular power furnished by the 

 wind, and at times no power at all. A storage 

 battery will have to be called in to store up 

 the electricity, and let itoiit (when you "press 

 the button " ) at an even regular rate. I ex- 

 pect to make some experiments in this line 

 soon, and will report progress. 



Perhaps I should add that there are two 

 lamps of different power furnished for the 

 wheel — one for those who ride at a moderate 

 speed, and another for the scorchers. If you 

 run too fast with the former you will be in 

 danger of burning it out. If you do not go 

 fast enough for the latter you would not get 

 much light. But the lamps can be changed, 

 one for the other, in less than a minute. 



