May 30, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



341 



ing," our beloved and lamented Langstroth, considered the 

 very best — his 10-frame hive, in brood and extracting 

 departments. I have worked my winter repositories (which 

 are cellars) into extracting-rooms, and they are very cool 

 and pleasant on a hot summer day. I have discarded 

 screen-doors and ventilate through screen-windows. Bees 

 will not accumulate on a wooden door and rush in with you 

 by the thousands to annoy. 



Place the extractor on a platform from two to 4 feet 

 high, and dig a pit so that the honey goes by gravity from 

 the extractor through the strainer to the keg. My strainer- 

 box is made after the Rambler pattern, which is a honey- 

 tight box with a roller on both ends near the top. The 

 cheese-cloth which I use for a strainer is rolled up on one 

 end and stretched to the other, as it becomes clogged. It is 

 rolled by means of a ratchet-wheel on each roller, held in 

 place by a single spring extending from one wheel to the 

 other. I have also a tin strainer above the cheese-cloth, 

 which catches all the coarse stuff. 



For an uncapping-can I use a 200-pound honey-keg 

 with the head out. I take a clean sugar-barrel hoop, and 

 bend and nail it together so it will drop down into the bot- 

 tom of the keg ; then make another one that will fit inside 

 of the first one : place unpainted wire window-screen on 

 the larger hoop, pressing the smaller one down into it, 

 which when strengthened with a few pieces of lath makes 

 a fine strainer for the uncapping-can ; and a hole made in 

 the bottom allows the honey to drain out. 



For a frame to hold the comb while uncapping I use a 

 strip across the top of the keg 1x2 inches with a nail driven 

 through each end, between the hoop and stave, to hold it 

 steady : but before I nail it down I drive an 8-penny wire- 

 nail about 6 inches from one end- from the upper side, for a 

 point on which to hold the combs while uncapping. Now 

 this point on which turns our fortune (or misfortune, I 

 sometimes think) holds the frame at almost any angle 

 desired without slipping, and I can reverse it. All these 

 motions which are necessary in uncapping are accom- 

 plished with one hand without lifting the comb. 



I know of no better uncapping-knife than the Bingham 

 & Hetherington. I used to lay the knife on the strip on 

 top of the keg with the handle projecting over the edge, 

 but hereby hangs a tale. The one who uncaps is called the 

 "shaver," and I was acting in that capacity one day. when, 

 in handling a heavy, slippery comb I let it drop on the 

 projecting handle, which caused it to jump at me like an 

 animate thing; as poor as its aim was it made a "short 

 cut " in my ear, and drew forth rich, royal blood. So now 

 I drive a small nail part way into the end of the handle 

 beside the shank, and hang it inside of the keg. 



The Porter bee-escapes are a great invention. I try to 

 get them on at least 24 hours before I wish to begin extract- 

 ing, then usually I can go out and run the supers in like so 

 many bricks. I try to have enough to keep us running all 

 day, so I put the escapes on another lot immediately so that 

 they will be ready to extract the next morning. 



Now comes the work which is to me the pleasantest 

 part of bee-keeping. With veil laid aside, sleeves rolled 

 up, and my honey-kegs previously tested with boiling 

 water, I am ready for a big day's run. As the combs are 

 uncapped they are placed on the platform in a box with a 

 tin bottom, from which an active, careful boy runs them 

 through a Cowan extractor. The empty keg is placed on 

 scales under the strainer-box, which will sink at the desired 

 weight, and cause the honey-gate to close automatically, by 

 means of a stick reaching to the honey-gate from the keg. 

 The keg is quickly removed and replaced by another, and so 

 the work goes merrily on, and I am content. 



Shall Bees Be Taxed ?— A New Yorker's Opinion. 



BY I-RIEIIE-M.\NX GREINER. 



IT is my opinion that every patriotic person, and all good 

 citizens, should be willing, na)-, anxious, to pay their 

 just share of taxation, bee-keepers included. If our 

 patriotism makes us liberal only in the expenditure of 

 money used for fire-crackers, beer and whiskey, that we 

 might celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Inde- 

 pendence worthily (?), or perhaps the victory of the Repub- 

 lican party, or any other political party, then our patriotism 

 is not worth much, and leads us astray. If our patriotism 

 does not prompt us to come forward with our treasures, 

 our stored-up papers, mortgages and notes, and demand 

 that we are justly taxed for all we possess, as a reciprocity 

 act for the protection we enjoy, then we would better not 



make much ado about our patriotic feeling. I am sorry to 

 say that a great many people, even those of high rank, try 

 in every conceivable way to hide their possessions before 

 the eyes of the assessors and tax-collectors. 



I am not sure that taxation will ever be equitably 

 adjusted. The situation to-day is practically about the 

 same as in the many centuries gone before. History shows 

 that the poor class, the people of little influence and means, 

 were always controlled and oppressed by the strong 

 and rich class, which in turn again gave rise to the 

 so-called revolutions. In other words, the common people 

 would endure about .so much, but when the pressure became 

 too great, then they kicked. Of course, we hope that a 

 Christian spirit will so penetrate the heart of each indi- 

 vidual, and the masses, that this earth will become more 

 heaven-like, and that selfishness will be driven out ; but 

 much water will probably flow down the Rhine before we 

 reach this state of things. lyCt this be as it may. I do not 

 wish to sneak out and avoid being taxed on my bees. 

 What I do object to is, to be picked out of the large number 

 of wealth producers and owners as the only one to pay 

 taxes. I am in favor of having all kinds of property 

 taxed, have brains taxed, etc. We did not succeed in hav- 

 ing a national income-tax law passed — it was declared 

 unconstitutional. Let us try it again — it is a just and wise 

 measure, just the same. Those that have shall give, ought 

 to give I , 



If I am going to be taxed on my property am I not 

 justifiable in demanding that my neighbors shall also be 

 taxed on their property ? To illustrate I wish to say : One 

 of my neighbors has six fine horses; their market value is 

 S600 ; nothing said of the single and double, light and 

 heavy harnesses, wagons single and double, carriages, reap- 

 ers, binders, etc ; he has 20 head of cattle, their market 

 value $500 ; then he has 100 sheep with a market value of 

 $800 dollars; a herd of swine, valued at SlOO — all in all, his 

 stock has a value of S2100. Let it be understood that at an 

 open sale his stock would probably bring that amount of 

 money, at least. But a few days ago I asked him how 

 much tax he paid on this nice investment. Well, what do 

 you think ? Not one red cent ! 



I am a bee-keeper, principally. My stock of bees con- 

 sists of ISO colonies. At an open sale they might bring 

 $300, no more. Of course I would not sell them for that, 

 not even for twice that amount. Besides the bees, I keep 

 one horse and two cows, valued at $150, which concludes 

 the list of my stock. In all it represents in value $450. So 

 as not to be called unfair, I will put it at $700. Some years 

 ago when the assessor came around he was much inclined 

 to assess my bees (and I had but about 65 colonies at that 

 time). Of course I objected. Pray, why should I be taxed 

 on my $700 investment, while my wealthy neighbor is 

 exempt on his $2100 stock investment ? 



When all other personal property is enlisted on the 

 assessor's list and lawfully taxed, then I will cheerfully 

 consent to have my bees listed, also I understand in some 

 States, in particular in the South, a tax is levied on 

 watches, pianos, other musical instruments, carriages and 

 stock of all kinds. Of course, where this is the case bees 

 should not escape. 



But there is another standpoint from which taxation of 

 bees may be viewed. The cane-sugar interest in the South, 

 and the beet-sugar interest in the West and North, are fos- 

 tered by the Government to such an extent that even a 

 premium or subsidy is paid to sugar manufacturers on 

 every pound of sugar produced. Honey is sugar. Why do 

 we bee-keepers not receive a subsidy on the honey we pro- 

 duce ? A great deal of honey goes to waste in the flowers 

 year in and year out. It can not be said that all honey is 

 gathered until there are about 10 colonies kept to every square 

 mile. The honey, if left in the flowers, does no one any 

 good. Uncle Sam ought to encourage bee-keeping, to the 

 end that all this honey might be gathered and saved, 

 instead of taxing bees out of existence. 



And, finally, there are thousands and millions of blos- 

 soms that need fertilizing every year. Many fail to set 

 fruit for lack of pollen-carriers. More bees, even if they 

 gathered no honey for us, would be an advantage to the 

 fruit interest in most localities, and should be kept for the 

 sole purpose of fertilizing fruit-blossoms. For this ser- 

 vice the bees ought to receive pay and protection, or rather 

 the bee-keeper ought to receive from the Government a cer- 

 tain amount premium, say ,50 cents, or more, for each col- 

 ony kept, instead of being taxed for them. This idea is 

 not a new one. by any means. The people of the middle 

 age valued the service the honey-bees rendered, and did pay 

 a premium for keeping them. I believe I mentioned this 



