Oct. 15. 1911 



AUTOMOBILES FOR BEE-KEEPERS. 



Almost every day we get an inquiry from 

 some one relative to the use of an automo- 

 bile in the apiary, or else some one who al- 

 ready has a machine writes of his experience 

 in using it for hauling bees, etc. We are ex- 

 pecting to have a photograph very soon, 

 showing how one of our subscribers who had 

 rented a high-powered truck hauled his 

 bees for less money than he had always 

 spent for the horse-drawn vehicles used be- 

 fore. 



We have been asked a number of times to 

 give our opinion as to the best car for the 

 bee-keeper, but always replied that we did 

 not regard any one car the best for all con- 

 ditions and circumstances. The simple ma- 

 chine, and the one that has good material 

 combined with good workmanship, is the 

 one to buy. High speed is by no means an 

 essential, as this does not necessarily indi- 

 cate a good reserve of power economically 

 ai^plied when the roads are bad and the load 

 heavy. There are a number of good reliable 

 machines that are neither expensive nor 

 high-powered. Starting with the little 

 Brush and Sears, we might mention the Reo, 

 Ford, Overland, Cartercar, E. :M. F., Buick, 

 Maxwell, etc. We have seen all of these 

 running in this vicinity, and we believe 

 that any of them would be a safe investment 

 for a bee-keeper or farmer. The experiment- 

 al stage, to a great extent, has passed, and 

 the machines are becoming so standardized 

 that the prices have become lower — or, rath- 

 er, the same amount of money to-day buys 

 a much better machine than it did five or 

 six years ago. We know that some are hold- 

 ing back, fearing that some great discovery 

 or revolution in invention will make all ex- 

 isting machines out of date; but we regard 

 this as a very remote possibility. 



WHAT IS THE BEST FORM OP TRANSMISSION? 



We have also been asked what transmis- 

 sion to select. By way of explanation we 

 would say that, since it is not practicable to 

 start and stop the gasoline-engine in the 

 modern automobile every time the car is 

 stopped and started, there must be some 

 form of clutch and change-speed mechanism 

 which will allow the engine to run faster on 

 bad roads and the car itself slower (thus 

 ■ giving the engine greater leverage) , and al- 

 so to enable the engine, without reversing 

 its motion, to drive the car backward. 



By far the larger proportion of machines 

 manufactured to-day have the sliding-gear 

 transmission, with three speeds, forward and 

 reverse. These have the advantage of effi- 

 ciency and an intermediate speed on rough 

 or bad roads. The disadvantage is that this 

 type of transmission requires considerably 

 more skill to operate than any other 

 form. 



The planetary transmission (two speeds 

 forward and reverse) is ideal for a light ma- 

 chine, but is hardly suitable for large cars 

 where roads are rough or hilly, and where 

 medium speed and much power are required. 

 This transmission has the advantage of be- 



613 



ing easily operated. The Ford, which en- 

 joys a Jarger sale than any other machine, 

 has the planetary transmission; and since 

 this is a light car," having ample power for 

 its weight, the planetary gives splendid re- 

 sults. 



The third type of transmission, which is 

 less used than any other, perhaps, but which 

 has a number of advantages, is the friction 

 transmission, with an infinite number of 

 speeds. It is quiet at all speeds, the easiest 

 operated of any, and the simplest. In fact, 

 the only part that wears out on this trans- 

 mission is the paper rim of the driving-wheel, 

 which, after three or four thousand miles' 

 usage, wears down and has to be renewed at 

 an expense of about three dollars. The rea- 

 son why this type of transmission is not 

 more universally used is that a number of 

 concerns manufacturing very cheap cars 

 utilized this transmission with plain bear- 

 ings, which gave a great deal of trouble. It 

 is highly important that a friction transmis- 

 sion have the best ball bearings in order 

 that it may have lOng life and the proper 

 efficiency. The friction transmission in the 

 Cartercar has many times proven its relia- 

 bility for every thing except racing and ex- 

 tremely high speed; and the fact that quite 

 a number cf the manufacturers of the heavy 

 trucks are beginning to use this form shows 

 that it is weir adapted for hard service. In- 

 deed, for truck work we regard it by all odds 

 as the simplest to operate and the most reli- 

 able. The fact that the engine can be gear- 

 ed to any ratio to the speed of the car makes 

 it possible to pull a heavy load over bad 

 roads where any other type of transmission 

 would stall the engine. 



The one objection to the friction trans- 

 mission is that a chain has to be used in- 

 stead of the customary shaft drive as found 

 on most cars. The chain is more efficient 

 than the shaft drive, but makes somewhat 

 more noise, especially when the car is run- 

 ning at a speed of over twenty miles an 

 hour. 



An automobile man said to us not long 

 ago: "Although most people wait for good 

 weather in the spring before buying an au- 

 tomobile, the fall is really the best time to 

 purchase a machine. The factories are not 

 so crowded then, and a more carefully as- 

 sembled car is the result." In the spring, 

 all is rush and hurry: the dealer and manu- 

 facturer are both working at a disadvantage: 

 and the customer, when he finally gets his 

 machine, well along in the summer, is in 

 such a hurry to use it that he fails to make 

 a study of it and learn how to take care of 

 it. Instead, he gets on to the road at once, 

 and in many cases actually abuses his car 

 before he understands enough about it to 

 take care of it properly. Most of the factories 

 have their next year's models ready early in 

 the fall, and there is really no object in wait- 

 ing till spring. Of course, it may not be 

 possible to use the car very much through 

 the winter; but at the same time it is a good 

 plan to have it on hand ready for business 

 when it is needed. 



