tlie aeroplane will be used; in fact, wherever water 

 is not available. 



" Mails w^ill be thus carried, doubtless, over large 

 stretches of territory in Texas, Utah, and New Mex- 

 ico. Automatic stability is all that is needed to make 

 it vcholly practical, and I believe we have solved the 

 problem." 



Judging from a pretty close acquaintance 

 with Orville Wright, I feel sure he would 

 not express himself so hopefully were it not 

 that he has some very good reasons for so 

 doing. I wonder if they will not be coming 

 down to Florida to test this great invention. 



DASHEEN, FLYING-MACHINES, AND SOME- 

 THING ABOUT GOD^S NEW AND WON- 

 DERFUL GIFTS TO US IN 1914. 



Some of you will think, no doubt, my 

 heading embraces a queer combination. 

 Well, perhaps it does; but the idea was 

 suggested by a picture Huber has just sent 

 me of our Medina plant that is to come out 

 in our new catalog. When I stirred the 

 world up on bee culture years ago I had, as 

 people thought, some extravagant day 

 dreams of the outcome of the honey indus- 

 try; but it is all coming to pass, and even 

 more than I ever dreamed of. Later, when 

 I visited the Wright brothers, and told what 

 I had seen, the world laughed again ; and I 

 confess events have crawled along a little 

 slower than I expected; but just listen to 

 what has been going on almost " under my 

 nose," and I didn't know it. About a week 

 ago our good friend Mr. Gault (of " Gault 

 raspberry " fame ) wrote me as follows : 



Dear Mr. Root: — As you are interested in air- 

 ships I enclose a circular which you may care to 

 look over. If you come over, call on me. 



St. Petersburg, Fla., Jan. 6. W. C. Gault. 



Below is a copy of the circular. 



ST. PETEESBURGTAMPA AIR-BOAT LINE ; FAST PAS- 

 SENGER AND EXPRESS SERVICE. 



Schedule: — Leave St. Petersburg 10:00 a.m. Ar- 

 rive Tampa 10:30 A.M. Leave Tampa 11:00 a.m. 

 Arrive St. Petersburg 11:30 A. M. Leave St. Peters- 

 burg 2:00 P.M. Arrive Tampa 2:30 p.m. Leave 

 Tampa 3:00 P. M. Arrive St. Petersburg 3:30 p. m. 



Special-flight trips can be arranged through any 

 of our agents or by communicating directly with the 

 St. Petersburg Hangar. Trips covering any distance 

 over all-water routes, and from the water's surface 

 to several thousand feet high at passengers' request. 



A minimum charge of $15 per special flight. 



Bates: $5.00 per trip. Round trip $10.00. Book- 

 ing for passage in advance. 



Note. — Passengers are allow-ed a weight of 200 

 pounds gross including hand baggage; excess charg- 

 ed at $5.00 per 100 pounds; minimum charge 25 

 cents. Express rates, for packages, suit-cases, mail 

 matter, etc., $5.00 per hundred pounds; minimum 

 charge, 25 cents. Express carried from hangar to 

 hangar only; delivery and receipt by shipper. 



Tickets oii sale at hangars or city news stand, P. 

 C. West, Prop., 271 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, Fla. 



I confess at first I could hardly believe 

 t]'.at an airship right here in Florida was 

 carrying passengers and express matter on 

 a schedule, and I wrote asking if it was 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



true, and if they really were making daily 

 trips. In response I received a copy of the 

 St. Petersburg daily for Jan G, from which 

 I clip as follows : 



SWIFTER THAN ANY CRAFT IS THE AIR-BOAT; ST. 



PETERSBURG TAMPA LINE AVERAGED TRIPS 



YESTERDAY IN 22 4-5 MINUTES. 



Averaging twenty-two and four-tifths minutes per 

 trip the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line is carry- 

 ing out the schedules advertised, and is making time 

 between this city and the terminal across the bay 

 which few express trains could equal. Yesterday in 

 the two trips to Tampa the time was, first trip, 24 

 minutes over and 22 back; second trip, 21 over and 

 24 back. This is time which is unequaled in the 

 South by either passenger trains, automobiles, or 

 any other passenger-carrying flying craft but the 

 Benoist. 



Tom W. Benoist, who is the head of the manufac- 

 turing company in St. Louis which makes the Be- 

 noist air-boats, is rushing his works to capacity in 

 order to send several more machines here as soon as 

 possible. Jannus and Fansler state that they are 

 e.xpecting to hear from him any day with the in- 

 formation that the machines have been placed in 

 transit. With the arrival of the additional air-boats 

 the service to Tampa will be greatly improved, and 

 more passengers can be carried every day. With 

 additional air-boats new trips may be arranged, and 

 it is possible that Bradentown and Pass-a-Grille will 

 be put on the list of ports of call. With a variety 

 of trips which may be made by the air-boat more 

 passengers will be carried, and the entire fleet of 

 machines kept busy every day, is the belief. 



That the inauguration of this, the first commercial 

 line of flying craft in the world, St. Petersburg is 

 becoming known in a way she was never before 

 heard of, and by people who otherwise would likely 

 never hear of this city. 



Later. — After being in operation for two weeks, 

 during which time the air-boat line has maintained 

 its schedule without any serious mishap, the little 

 air craft, after completing the flights made yesterday, 

 had traveled 1002 miles. During the past week the 

 air-boat has made its usual record in aeronautics, 

 having completed the week by not only maintaining 

 its regular schedule but having made the trips with- 

 out any delay or engine trouble. 



The air-boat will be pressed into service Sunday, 

 Feb. 1, to bring Don C. McMullen, president of the 

 State Anti-saloon League, who will deliver a lecture 

 on that day in this city on the saloon question. Mr. 

 McMullen is anxious to attend Sunday-school in 

 Tampa in the morning of that day, and that wall 

 make it too late for him to catch the steamer and be 

 in this city in time to make the lecture. Rather 

 than take an automobile he made arrangements to 

 come over by the air-boat. 



The air-boat has proven a decided success for 

 commercial travel since the inauguration of the line 

 in this city. The eyes of the aeronautical world are 

 upon St. Petersburg, and the air-boat line and many 

 of the prominent aviators of this and foreign coun- 

 tries are watching with interest the results of the 

 air-boat line in this city. — St. Petersburg Times. 



I find the daily flying machine between 

 St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla., mentioned 

 above, is really a hydroplane. It starts m 

 the water, alights in the water, and drops 

 in the water again if any thing goes wrong, 

 and in fact keeps only a few feet above the 

 water on the whole trip of about 30 miles. 

 Notwithstanding, passage is engaged a long 

 way aliead. At present tliey carry only one 

 passenger at a trip. 



