A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to the Interests of Honey Producers 

 $LO0 a fear 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON, Editor and Publisher. 



VOL. XXIII. 



FLINT. MICHIGAN. FEBRUARY 1. 1910. 



NO. 2 



Some Details About Extracting Honey Without 

 Opening the Hives. 



L. W. AVANT. 



m 



'R. Hutchinson: I take pleasure in 

 sending a photo of my latest ex- 

 tractor. This picture gives a 

 general view of the machine, a part of 

 my apiary, also an idea of my plan of 

 feeding back nectar for the production of 

 comb or extracted honey. 



HOW THE FEEDING BACK IS DONE. 



You will observe that the feeding back 

 is accomplished by the use of an inverted 

 bottle with a neck passing through a 

 hole in the cover, and terminating in a 

 large shallow dish, resting on the top of 

 the frames. A specially constructed 

 vessel, holding at least one gallon, should 

 be used for this purpose. A hole in the 

 top of the vessel should be provided, so 

 that it might be filled without removing. 



GASOLINE POWER FOR RUNNING THE 

 EXTRACTOR. 



You will notice that the extractor con- 

 sists of a very small gasoline engine and 

 blower, mounted on a small hand-truck, 

 so that the outfit may be moved about 

 among the hives. 



The automatic weighing arrangement 

 consists of a small platform suspended 

 by springs attached to the uprights on 



either side of the honey vessel, and of a 

 graduated telescoping tube, fitted at the 

 lower end, with a screw-cap and honey 

 gate, so arranged as to move freely up 

 and down in the air chamber, above 

 which it is connected with the blower. 



A SPRING-VALVE THAT REGULATES THE 

 PRESSURE, OR SUCTION. 



In the end of the suction-box, adjacent 

 to the slots through which the honey 

 passes, is a long valve or spring-door, 

 so adjusted as to open and admit air 

 when the pressure rises to a given point. 

 This valve serves a double purpose: 

 First, it insures a uniform pressure on 

 the combs; and, secondly, it aids in keep- 

 ing the honey cleared out of the suction- 

 box by admitting a volume of air which 

 serves to move the honey forward into 

 the telescoping pipes which connect with 

 the air-chamber. 



A barometer on the air-chamber (not 

 shown in cut) indicates the pressure, and 

 enables us to determine at all times when 

 we have a practical working pressure. 



COST AND CAPACITY OF THE SPECIAL FRAMES. 



A set of my special frames, (4) as first 

 made, held considerably less honey than 



