768 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



the machine when new. When they become 

 partially used up the whole eight can be 

 made into a series to do the work. Now, 

 these dry cells, even when made honestly, 

 do not hold out alike. Some ma}'^ play out 

 in one month, while some of the rest may 

 last six months. "VVe are using some that 

 have been used more than that time. Some 

 time in June I bought what is called a bat- 

 tery-tester, for 75 cts. This indicates the 

 power of each cell ; and by throwing out the 

 weak cells as the current runs low I have 

 used the greater part of them since about 

 the first of January. And now comes the 

 great advantage of this plan. If you use 

 the whole eight until they are worn out, or 

 till some of them are worn out, or use the 

 storage battery, you will have to carry 

 around an extra set or an extra storage 

 battery for fear they will give out when you 

 are away from home. With my plan of re- 

 placing one at a time, one or two single 

 cells in your tool-box will enable you to go 

 away from home a hundred miles or more 

 with very little to carry. You carry these 

 extra dry cells just as you carry an inner 

 tube for the rubber wheels. 



By the waj', our rubber tires have done 

 excellent service since Jan. 1, without any 

 expense for repairs; and one reason for this 

 is that I have also learned how to handle 

 rubber tires. It pays to be exceedingly 

 careful about where you run your machine. 

 Do not go through grass or rubbish where 

 there may be concealed boards with nails 

 sticking up, pieces of wire, broken glass, 

 etc. Look out for a bit of loose board in 

 the road. Do not run over it. A nail may 

 be sticking out of it. Keep away from 

 sharp stones. 



In summing up I would say our machine 

 as it is now, valued at S300 or $400, is cheap- 

 er than a horse and buggy.* In summer it 

 always stands at the door in front of the 

 factory; and we are all careful to see that 

 it is always in order for an instant start. 

 Of course, nights and rainy days it stands 

 in the auto house. Right close to it is a 

 work-bench with a good assortment of tools 

 for all necessary repairs. Under this bench 

 is the gasoline, three kinds of lubricatimg 

 oil (hard and soft), some waste for cleaning 

 up, and an assortment of pieces of woolen 

 cloth to wipe off the machine as well as 

 your fingers, and every thing that may 

 be possibly needed to keep it in order. It 

 may not be exactly a "thing of beauty," 

 after having run so many thousand miles 

 the first year, and it may not be exactly a 

 "joy forever;" but it comes pretty near be- 

 ing so to your old friend A. I. R. 



* On the preceding page I said if the machine had 

 deteriorated $350 in value in one year, that deteriora- 

 tion would represent about 10 cents a mile. But this 

 is not the case. The agent who sold me the machine 

 said I ought to get $500 for it. This would be only 

 8150 for one yesr's use. And still again, it has almost 

 always carried two persons, and a good deal of the 

 time three and four. Now. the machine may not sell 

 for as much as it has cost, but it may be worth to the 

 purchaser nearly the original price, for in several 

 places we made repairs, curing defects, and improv- 

 ing on the original make. But suppose we say $150 



"cherries are ripe." 

 May be the early ones will be ripe and 

 gone when this comes to your eye; but our 

 new and improved cherries have such a 

 long period of ripening, that, if you have 

 not got ripe cherries and had them since 

 strawberry time, it is because you are not 

 up to date. Mr. Calvert and I recently vis- 

 ited friend Hilbert's cherry orchard of 400 

 trees. He has all of the standard varieties, 

 and some others by way of experiment. I 

 can not remember the names of all of them, 

 but I was especially pleased with the May 

 Duke. It is not only exceedingly interest- 

 ing, but it is very satisfying to any lover of 

 fruit to go through a cherry-orchard and 

 test the different kinds. Very many times 

 I would say, " Don't go any further, Mr. 

 Hilbert. These exactly hit the spot. I do 

 not want any thing better." But he would 

 say, " Oh! don't jou be in a hurry. Wait 

 till you have seen some of the others, and 

 then give your verdict." 



Why, it was a happy surprise to me to 

 find there so many exceedingly nice early 

 cherries. As we had a walk of three or 

 four miles before us I ate just all I wanted, 

 as I used to do when I was a boy, and no 

 bad effect followed whatever; and that is 

 one reason why I especially love that re- 

 gion around Grand Traverse Bay; for 

 while I am up there in the open air I eat 

 fruit indiscriminately, without any trouble 

 at all. 



Now, the principal thing I wanted to 

 write about is this: Some years ago friend 

 Hilbert tried grafting our best early cher- 

 ries on the wild cherry of the woods, fence- 

 corners, and fields. There are more wild- 

 cherry trees around Grand Traverse Bay 

 than I ever saw anywhere else. My woods is 

 full of them; and whenever the other timber 

 is cut out, the peculiar kind of wild cherry 

 of that region springs up with wonderful 

 alacrity. It starts up every little while 

 where we have cleared the ground for po- 

 tatoes, and in just a few weeks it will 

 shoot up as high as your head. Now, I do 

 not know how much has been done in the 

 way of using this native wild cherry to bud 

 or graft on to; but it is so very hardy, and 

 of such rapid growth, that it seems there 

 must be wonderful possibilities open in 

 this direction. Perhaps some of our read- 

 ers who have nurseries can tell us about it. 

 Mr. Hilbert's trees grafted in this way 



depreciation in running 3000 miles. This would be 

 5 cents a mile for the load; and if the average load 

 was between two and three people, the actual cost 

 would not be over 2 cents a mile, while three of us (if 

 not four) were learning the trade of running it. To 

 this must be added the cost of gasoline, lubricating 

 oil, and repairs. Had the machine been housed up 

 except in good weather, and not run all winter long 

 during almost all kinds of roads, it would, of course, 

 be in much better condition than it is now. 



