Part 14

As beekeeping developed as an industry, the close relationship to fruit growing and horticulture became apparent, as bees were discovered to be the greatest pollen carrying agents known. The government then began to spend more money on the development of the various branches of agriculture; a Department of Apiculture was established and through the work of this department beekeeping is recognized as one of the most profitable branches of agriculture.

The intense enthusiasm of this pioneer beekeeper was contagious and resulted in many taking up beekeeping. As no attention had been given to developing a market for honey and production increased, older beekeepers became alarmed and raised the cry that he was making too many beekeepers. Seeing the need for some means of increasing the demand for honey, a small honey business was started to dispose of the product of customers who had no market. Soon a definite educational campaign on the value of honey as a food was started, enlisting the co-operation of beekeepers wherever possible. Immediately the necessity for more care in selecting and marketing honey was apparent.

The introduction of Italian bees into the United States in the early sixties marked an epoch in beekeeping, as they soon demonstrated their superiority as honey gatherers, their gentleness and other traits proving them more adaptable to domestication and to modern methods of beekeeping. The marked superiority of some colonies over others attracted the attention of beekeepers to the possibility of race improvement by careful breeding, which gradually developed a new branch of beekeeping aside from honey production--that of queen rearing--as it was discovered that improvement of stock must come through the queen mother. The average production of honey per colony has been materially increased, due not alone to improved methods, but to improvement in stock by careful breeders; and there are many beekeepers engaged exclusively in this branch of the industry who enjoy international reputation as breeders of superior strains of queens, and many thousands are annually sent through the mails to all parts of the world. Live bees are shipped by express as easily as poultry or other live stock.

The honey industry is unique in this respect, that there is hardly a part of the United States where one cannot engage in it with profit. Locality has much to do with the flavor and quality of honey, owing to the different sources from which it is produced. Honey is simply blossom nectar gathered by the bees, distilled or evaporated in the beehive with the same distinctive flavor as the perfume of the blossoms from which it was gathered; consequently we have as many different flavors of honey as plants that bloom in sufficient profusion to produce honey. For this reason it is easy to recognize the distinct flavors of honey produced in different localities. In California orange honey we get the delicate aroma of the orange blossoms, and the water-white honey from the mountain sage has its characteristic flavor. Throughout the states east of the mountains and west of the Mississippi, are produced the well-known varieties of honey--alfalfa, sweet clover and other honeys from fall flowers. From the Middle West and Eastern states comes the matchless white clover honey, basswood and the dark aromatic buckwheat. The Southern states produce a multitude of different honeys, the sweet clover, tupelo, and the palmetto being the most common. The total annual production of honey in the United States as given by the best authorities is approximately 55,000,000 pounds. This, compared with other crop reports, may appear very small, but when considered from the standpoint of the enormous amount of bee labor represented, it is stupendous. Undoubtedly present reports will greatly exceed those given.

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Where do Figs Come From?

The fig tree, which is of the mulberry family, belonged originally in Asia Minor, but it has been naturalized in all the countries around the Mediterranean. It grows from fifteen to twenty, or even thirty, feet high.

In good climates it bears two crops in a season; one in the early summer, from the buds of the last year; the other, which is the chief harvest, in the autumn, from those on the spring growth.

Figs, particularly dried figs, form an important article of food in the countries of the Levant, and are exported in large quantities to America and Europe. The best come from Turkey.

What are “Fighting Fish”?

Fighting fish are a small fish and belong to the climbing perch family. They are natives of the southeast of Asia and are remarkable for their pugnacious propensities.

In Siam these fish are kept in glass globes, as we keep goldfish, for the purpose of fighting, and an extravagant amount of gambling takes place about the result of the fights.

When the fish is quiet its colors are dull, but when it is irritated it glows with metallic splendor.

How is the Exact Color of the Sky Determined?

An instrument called a “cyanometer,” meaning “measurer of blue,” is used for ascertaining the intensity of color in the sky.

It consists of a circular piece of metal or pasteboard, with a band divided by radii into fifty-one portions, each of which is painted with a shade of blue, beginning with the deepest, not distinguishable from black, and decreasing gradually to the lightest, not distinguishable from white. The observer holds this up between himself and the sky, turning it gradually round till he finds the tint of the instrument exactly corresponding to the tint of the sky.

What is a “Divining Rod”?

A divining rod is a wand or twig of hazel or willow used especially for discovering metallic deposits or water beneath the earth’s surface.

It is described in a book written in 1546 and it has also a modern interest, which is set forth by Prof. W. F. Barrett, F.R.S., the chief modern investigator. The use of the divining rod at the present day is almost wholly confined to water finding, and in the hands of certain persons it undoubtedly has produced results along this line that are remarkable, to say the least. The professional water-finder provides himself with a forked twig, of hazel, for instance, which twig, held in balanced equilibrium in his hands, moves with a sudden and often violent motion, giving to the onlooker the impression of life within the twig itself. This apparent vitality of the twig is the means whereby the water-finder is led to the place where he claims underground water to exist, though its presence at that particular spot was hitherto wholly unsuspected. While failure is sometimes the outcome of the water-finder’s attempts, success as often and, indeed, according to the testimony of Professor Barrett, more often crowns his efforts. Various explanations, scientific and other, of the phenomenon have been advanced. Professor Barrett ascribes it to “motor-automatism” on the part of the manipulator of the divining rod, that is, a reflex action excited by some stimulus upon his mind, which may be either a sub-conscious suggestion or an actual impression. He asserts that the function of the forked twig in the hands of the water-finder may be to act as an indicator of some material or other mental disturbance within him. While a hazel or willow twig seems to be preferred by the professional water-finders, twigs from the beech, holly or any other tree are employed; sometimes even a piece of wire or watch spring is used, with apparently as good results.

The Story of Electricity in the Home[13]

How wonderful to youth always has been the magical story of Aladdin and the wonderful lamp which, through its supernatural powers, he could gently stroke and thereby make genii of the unknown world his slaves.

In the rush of modern affairs there is that which is even more fascinating, even more wonderful, than the story of Aladdin and the magical power exerted through his lamp, but which is given but a passing thought because of the rapid changes through which we are passing.

Mythical as it may sound, yet nevertheless it is true, that man has harnessed for his use every snowflake that falls in the mountain tops and settles itself in the banks of perpetual ice and snow. How man has tapped the mountain fastnesses and converted the melting snows into a servant more powerful, more magical, more easily controlled, than Aladdin’s genii, should be known to everyone. This servant is electricity.

This silent, invisible servant is ever present, always ready at the touch of a button or the snap of a switch, without hesitation, without grumbling, to do silently, swiftly, without dirt, without discomfort, without asking for a day off or for higher wages, the work which is laid out for it.

The use of electricity is so common today that the average person does not stop to think of it as a magical power wielding a tremendous influence for betterment in every-day affairs.

Electricity has rapidly found its way into the home for domestic purposes, eliminating at its entrance a host of cares of the household.

So recently, as to seem almost yesterday, the genius of man’s brain coupled electricity with mechanical devices for the comfort and efficiency of the home.

Although a number of attempts have been made to build appliances for use in the home that would utilize electricity, the real beginning of the present almost universal use of electrical appliances seems to have been in the manufacture of the electric iron. One instance, at least, coupled with the manufacture of this household necessity, offers something of romanticism.

To a certain western state, a young electrical engineer betook himself, obtaining a position as superintendent of an electric power company and establishing his abode in a tent far up a canyon, more for the benefit of his wife’s health than for the thought of being near the power plant and his work. The melting snow which gathered in little rivulets made a roaring mountain stream which generated such an excess of power for the company, that the young electrical engineer began looking about for other means of utilizing it than for lighting the homes of the villages below the mouth of the canyon. He designed a crude electric iron, placed a number of them in use, and found they gave fairly good service and at the same time enabled the power company to sell additional current. Development of the device was rapid, so rapid, in fact, that the young engineer’s time was soon taken up with it and he resigned from his position with the power company to organize a small concern for the purpose of manufacturing electric irons which at first were sold to the consumers of the power company and later to a large nearby city.

These irons met with such a ready reception and were so popular with housewives because of the time saving and the convenience, that attention was next turned to other appliances which could be used in the home and which would assist the power company in the sale of current. About one hundred electric cooking sets were manufactured, consisting of ovens and crude round stoves. These were distributed among the customers of the power company and thenceforth their operation was carefully watched and improvements made from time to time, using always the suggestions offered by the housewives to make an appliance that would meet the needs of the home.

This particular company, which was started but little more than ten years ago in a small room of a store building in a small town of Southern California, has grown rapidly from that time when its complete office and factory force consisted of a man and two boys. It now places in homes well toward a million appliances each year.

Since the home can now be operated almost exclusively with electrical appliances, including everything from the electric iron to the modern labor-saving electric range, it is well to note briefly some of the many reasons for the success of electrically-heated appliances.

Perhaps most noticeable is cleanliness and the absolute absence of dirt and grime in using pure electric heat. There is no soot, no smoke nor discoloration. There are none of the bad effects so often caused by the air becoming vitiated, due to the burning up of oxygen in the air by gas and other fuels. There is no corrosion, oxidization or other form of deterioration.

Perfect and absolute control of heat seems to be secured. The easy snap of the controlling switch on the electric burner gives a certain intensity of heat which remains at that temperature so long as the switch remains in that position. Thus, with modern appliances, the housewife operates them at high, medium or low to suit her desires.

Fire risk is reduced to a minimum, because there are no matches, no kindlings, no kerosene cans, no oil barrels and nothing of the sort to endanger life and property.

The efficiency obtained through the operation of electrical appliances soon becomes evident to the user. The heat generated for ironing, for instance, is all utilized. This is true as well with heating or cooking appliances, and this utilization of practically all of the heat units naturally results in economy in operation in communities where the lighting or power company has made a favorable rate.

Because the electric iron seems to have been the forerunner of electrical appliances for the home, it is well first to describe briefly the processes of manufacture necessary before the iron can be placed in the home and take its position as one of the modern labor-saving devices.

One of the first irons to be manufactured, an illustration of which is shown herewith, did not offer the pleasing appearance nor give the service of its youngest sister, the illustration of which is also shown. One of the first problems was to control the heat at the iron, and to do this a separable switch plug was developed, enabling the operator to connect or disconnect the current supply at the iron.

The real problem, the one of most vital importance from the point of efficiency, was that of the heating element that would do more than heat the center of the sole plate. One of the pioneer manufacturers, after numerous experiments, concluded that, since the point or nose of an iron comes first in contact with the damp goods, naturally it should have first and most heat applied to it. The result was a double heating element in the form of a V, the resistance wire used being symmetrically wound on a flat, thin mica core. This V-shaped element, the point of the V coming up into the nose of the iron, insured a hot point, as well as hot sides, center, back and heel, where the terminals were connected with the switch plug receptacle. Another development which followed was that of an attached stand, eliminating the necessity of lifting the iron on and off a stand many times during the ironing. At first the iron was heavy and clumsy, being built of cast iron, but modern manufacture has made it possible to build the sole plate of cast iron and the top of pressed steel.

The illustrations show some of the steps necessary before the iron reaches the shipping room. Fig. 1 shows the workman pouring an earthen ladle of molten metal into the molds in which the sole plates are cast. Fig. 2 shows the sole plate in the hands of the workman, held against a rapidly revolving polishing wheel, after it has been run through a milling machine and ground to a perfect size. Fig. 3 shows a huge punch press which cuts the blank of steel that is afterwards drawn to the shape of the iron top. The workman is seen holding in his hand the blank cut from a sheet of steel (Fig. 4). The blanks of flat steel of such irregular shape are next passed to a mammoth draw press which draws blanks into the perfect shape to be fitted over the top of the pressure plate which holds the heating element firmly against the sole plate. At the operator’s left hand is a stack of blanks and in his left hand he holds one ready to be placed in the draw press. In his right hand is a top just pulled from the press, and at the extreme right a large truck full of finished tops ready for the polishing wheels.

Mica, which so many people know as isinglass, is one of the most important materials in the manufacture of the standard electric iron. The highest grade mica comes from India and the open box in the picture shows thin, transparent pieces just tumbled out (Fig. 5). At the edge of the table is a stack of mica strips known as cores. Hanging over the top of the board are several cores on which the resistance wire has been wound, showing the V-shaped heating element.

One of the most important and yet seemingly simple parts of an electric iron is the switch plug which connects the electric light socket with the iron. The operator in Fig. 6 is shown assembling switch plugs and is in the act of driving home a screw which holds in place the fiber bar over which the cord bends.

A standard six-pound iron consists of seventy-nine parts and represents two hundred and ten distinct factory operations. Every part is carefully inspected before being routed to the assembling department, and after being fully assembled the irons are placed on a traveling table where each is examined in its turn by an inspector with carefully trained fingers, sensitive as those of a miller who tells the quality of flour by pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. This inspector can quickly detect in the handsome finish a defect that is unnoticeable to the average person.

The Traveler’s Iron.

Electric current is so nearly universally obtainable that milady who travels much has come to carry in her grip or suitcase a light-weight iron, usually of about three pounds, and to aid to further convenience, the manufacturer has supplied with this iron, curling tongs, curling tongs heater and an attached stand so that the iron can be inverted and its sole plate used as a small disc stove. The entire outfit is placed in a neat felt bag as shown by Fig. 7.

Electric Cooking Appliances.

It is stated that not until the reign of Queen Elizabeth did women begin to take over generally the handling of the kitchen work. Their absence from this important part of the household is not so much to be wondered at when we consider the size of the joints served prior to the time of that well-known queen and the crude methods of preparing the meal. On the other hand, it may have been due to the fact that the Armada called for men, and the women had to go into the kitchen irrespective of conditions. Be that as it may, we naturally conclude that the evolution of the kitchen and kitchen work began at about that time, for very shortly after the open fire gave way to some of the more crude methods of contained fire pots.

It was many years after Good Queen Bess’ reign that electricity was introduced in England for cooking purposes; in fact, not until as late as 1891, when H. J. Dowsing, one of the pioneers of electric cooking, exhibited electric cookers and heaters at the Crystal Palace Electrical Exposition in London, was much interest manifested.

Divided into Three Classes.

Electric cooking appliances can very conveniently be divided into three classes: table appliances, and the light and heavy duty kitchen appliances; the latter being those requiring special wiring. Among table appliances are toasters, coffee percolators, electric teapots, chafing dishes and numerous other articles that add to the convenience of preparing food. These are termed light-duty appliances, as they operate from the light socket.

It might be well to explain that the lamp-socket appliances are those operating from the light socket and are built to carry not over 660 watts of current. Should you attach an appliance of heavier wattage to a light socket you will doubtless “blow” a fuse.

Electric Toaster.

In the rush and hurry of modern life, we are inclined to go back to the days of barbarism, when real home life was unknown. Instead of all members of the family gathering about the breakfast table when the meal is ready, they come straggling in one by one. This made it very difficult for the housewife to serve the breakfast hot, and particularly the toast, which is a favorite dish of our breakfast table. The necessary steps back and forth from the breakfast room to the kitchen to prepare hot, crunchy toast made this portion of breakfast-getting a not agreeable feature. The thought, taken up by electrical engineers, brought out an electric toaster, rectangular in shape, with handsome frame, nickel supports and wire heating element. This was indeed very efficient and could be used also as a small stove. This type of toaster was followed a little later by an upright toaster (Fig. 8). The heating element is of the radiant type, made of flat resistance wire wound on mica and placed in a vertical position between the two bread racks. When the current is switched on, the heating element becomes red and the bread is inserted under the gravity-operated bread clamps on each side. The bread clamp is simply raised at the edge of the slice of bread, and holds the bread firmly in place. This appliance toasts bread evenly, rapidly, and costs very little to operate. The flat top can be used for keeping a plate warm for the toast.

Electric Coffee Percolator.