ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



55 



be careful in grading; and label every 

 package as to kind and weight. 



Inside of three years, using this 

 plan, you will have to buy honey be- 

 cause you will not be able to produce 

 what your market will demand. Cash 

 customers and their neighbors will take 

 more honey than j^ou can produce. 



Uncapping Machines. 



I have used four of the best made 

 machines for uncapping sealed honey 

 combs, and although Mr. Ferguson's 

 machine does good work, all machines 

 must have an uncapping knife handy 

 by to finish the low spots and corners. 



I therefore much prefer to have one 

 steam heated uncapping knife, which 

 is faster, does better work, and is prac- 

 tical for a small bee-keeper as well 

 as for an extensive one. 



Four years ago, one man at the 

 honey extracting kept three of us busy 

 uncapping; now any one of the three 

 can have time to spare and keep the 

 machine hustling, so why, for this little 

 difference in cost, not have an uncap- 

 ping knife steam heated? Two of 

 your men can have time to do some- 

 thing else. 



With a small, single wick oil stove, 

 a gallon honey can, with a tin spout 

 to connect the rubber from the knife 

 to the can, and all is ready for work. 



About five cents per day for oil will 

 keep such a knife ready to do as much 

 uncapping as three knives without the 

 steam heat. 



In our home apiary, where we ex- 

 tract four thousand five hundred 

 pounds in a day, one person now does 

 all uncapping and has spare time be- 

 sides. 



As to the cost of the steam knife, 

 at five dollars it is cheaper than any 

 of the uncapping machines. 



I think any person with twenty-five 

 swarms run for extracted honey will 

 find it a good investment. 



I am no dealer, nor am I interested 

 in the sale of any supplies, and if my 

 talk has reminded you of conveniences 

 you should use, all is well. 



Pres. Dadant — I don't believe there 

 is any one here to whom this lecture 

 is not worth more than twice what it 

 ■costs to come here. 



Some five or six years ago an Italian 

 •doctor sent me two knives by parcel 

 post, from Europe. 



His knives were both electric and 

 steam; the trouble with the steam 



knife was, that the knife was so hot 

 at times it was difficult to handle. 

 The steam fed at the handle — so did 

 the electricity. The electricity was in- 

 sulated, and it was all right. 



He had a short tube and kept his 

 stove right by him. 



These two difficulties were entirely 

 remedied by the American method. 



A European invented the knife and 

 the Americans made it practical. 



This last year, in an Italian Bee 

 Journal there was a complaint made 

 by that doctor concerning the Ameri- 

 cans stealing the Italian inventions. 



I said, it was true, they had invented 

 something and the Americans made it 

 practical. 



They are still selling knives with the 

 steam running through the handle. 



It is difficult for the farmers to get 

 electricity, so that the electric knives 

 are not so practical as the steam, and 

 the batteries get out of order. 



Mr. France — The cost of oil was 

 eight cents a day and it took the place 

 of two men, so when you pay five 

 dollars for an uncapping machine, it 

 pays. 



My son found that the electric 

 worked just as well, and you have not 

 quite so much weight on the handle. 



He also used an electric wheel by 

 which all the wires imbedded in full 

 sheets of comb foundation at once; 

 it was practical, but, as your president 

 says, the batteries are easily gotten out 

 of order, and for running out yards, I 

 question its practicability. 



Mr. Baxter — Edison has invented a 

 storage battery that is going to revo- 

 lutionize everything. 



Pres. Dadant — Is there anybody here 

 who can give us as good a lecture as 

 did Mr. France? 



I sometimes wonder if Mr. France 

 came from France or if his ancestors 

 did; I would feel very proud of him. 



Mr. France — By the way, I found in 

 Inspecting bees in Wisconsin (and I 

 may be partial to the Germans because 

 my grandparents were German) that 

 Wisconsin has many eminent men, 

 bee-keepers, who are. Germans. I had 

 my annual report printed in English, 

 the children of the German bee-keep- 

 ers could read English, but many of 

 the parents could not. 



I went to the Governor .and said — 

 "I want to do one thing with -the re- 

 maining few dollars of our appropria- 

 tion. Can I have printed some German 



