1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



34911 



or any thing- else, that "wig-gles." Our 

 clothes-wringfer is attached to a stand that 

 holds the tubs; but every little while the up- 

 rig-hts g-et to wiggling- back and forth as 

 the women turn the crank. By the way, my 

 g-ood friend, do you ever help your wife 

 wash just a little while, turning the crank 

 just long enough to see whether every thing 

 she uses is in apple-pie order? If you don't, 

 just try it some day. I think I can say 

 from experience that it will make you hap- 

 py, whether it makes her so or not. You 

 might give her a kiss after 3'ou get every 

 thing fixed all right. 



Now, during all of this talk, my friends, 

 I have had my automobile in mind; and I 

 want to tell you something about keeping 

 autos in order. I do not suppose that many 

 of 3'ou will ever have this work to do; but 

 the same suggestions will apply to your 

 wagon and buggy more or less, and to all 

 other kinds of farm machinery. 



REPAIRING AUTOMOBILES. 



Our automobile has been doing excellent 

 service all winter, ever since I wrote to you 

 about it last; but it has been a little too 

 hard for me to turn the starting-crank to 

 get it under waj'. Huber said, when he 

 was at home during the holidays, that it 

 need not turn so hard; and he fixed it so it 

 started very much easier. Pretty soon it 

 got back into the old trick. One day I de- 

 cided to study out why it did not start as 

 easily as when Huber fixed it; and after 

 tracing the mischief along, I found a little 

 steel wheel that had got one corner worn off 

 clear round. Its office was to raise a cam 

 on the compression-valve; and the cam had 

 got to slipping over outside of the steel pul- 

 ley. It did not take long to decide that, if 

 the pulley were turned over so as to have 

 the other side or corner, which was perfect, 

 raise the cam, it would be as good as new. 

 So we removed the pivot and took the wheel 

 out; but, behold, the rivet it turned on was 

 worn almost half in two. When we were 

 on that trip up through Michigan, in that 

 sandy region, we were probably careless 

 about getting oil into this particular part, 

 and at the same time it had been cutting 

 badly. Now, right near this little steel 

 pulley there are two more just like it. 

 The3' operate the valves that let the explo- 

 sive gas into the cylinder, and then let the 

 exploded gases out after they have done 

 their work. We made a careful examina- 

 tion, and found that the rivets or bearings 

 to these other wheels were worn in like 

 manner. All three were loose on the rivets, 

 and would rattle about more or less. I said 

 they should all be put in good order. The 

 holes in the arms to hold these wheels were 

 reamed out until we could just get a temper- 

 ed steel pin through the wht els. That made 

 a close tight fit. Then they were well oil- 

 ed, and put back in their places in the auto. 

 What do you suppose the result was? The 

 machine not only started so easily that any 

 child could turn the crank, but it shot ofi:' 

 like a young colt. It seemed to me as if 



it gave almost double the power, and it re- 

 quired only about half as much gasoline. 

 Why, I could run over town, up hill and 

 down, without using the "speeder" at all. 

 Hitherto I had been doing most of my run- 

 ning with xny toe on the speeder. I had al- 

 so been able to slow up in passing a team 

 by the spark-lever, without releasing the 

 clutch at all. After these repairs the ma- 

 chine would go right along at a good speed 

 with the spark-lever pushed down as far as 

 it would go. 



After succeeding so well with this part'of 

 the machine, I began examining the levers 

 in the steering apparatus. I found the 

 joints were very much worn and loose. 

 When it is bad muddy weather, we run the 

 auto up town on the track of the electric 

 railway, or between the tracks. It had 

 been all winter long a hard matter to keep 

 the machine exactly in place. After closing 

 up the joints and steering apparatus, it was 

 no effort at all to run right on top of the 

 rails, even at a good speed. I thought I 

 was not only careful with machinery, but a 

 pretty good hand to look it over; and yet I 

 had been verj' careless in these two respects. 

 I was not only losing the benefit of what 

 the machine could do, but I was letting it 

 wear itself out by vay carelessness. I had 

 been keeping every thing well oiled, but 

 this is not all. You want to be sure that 

 your joints are all tight and snug. As my 

 machine seems to be doing even better work 

 now than when I first bought it, I am in- 

 clined to think the manufacturers did not 

 have these bearings in the first place as 

 perfect as they might have been. 



I know there is a natural inclination to 

 dread getting at jobs of this kind, especial- 

 ly where one is going to soil his fingers, 

 and clothing too, if he is not careful. But 

 after you once get at it, and experience the 

 good results you get from having every thing 

 in good order, I think you will learn to en- 

 joy it. Why, I have of late sometimes al- 

 most wished there were some work to be 

 done with my auto, because I so much en- 

 joy working with it. After I have been in 

 the office reading and answering letters 

 until I feel clear used up, I can turn my at- 

 tention to something that needs repairing; 

 and if I succeed in making the repairs yz^^ 

 exactly to my notion, I forget all about be- 

 ing tired; and then I do really enjoy help- 

 ing the world along, by repairing or mak- 

 ing adjustments, so that somebody's work is 

 easier than it has been heretofore. 



RADIUM — DOES IT STILL HOLD OUT? 



Yes, friends, it is still at it. The bom- 

 bardment continues exactly as it did when 

 I first received it; and I tell you it is a won- 

 derful thing to see this radio-activity con- 

 stantly pouring forth its showers of meteors 

 day and nighi, week days and Sundays, 

 summer and winter, for ever and ever — 

 that is, so far as we have yet explored the 

 matter. 



