February, 1910. 



The Capping Can— Has it Any 

 Value? 



UY C. r. UADANT. 



"I WILL never forget the reply tliat 

 I I got from a beekeeper in Cuba 

 when I asked him why it was that 

 no one ever used the Dadant uncapping 

 can, the price of which is $8.00. He re- 

 plied that no one but suckers ever 

 bought them. And I think he answered 

 right. (With upolo^'ifs to Dadant & 

 Sons). 



" For a capping can I use two kero- 

 sene tins, one above the other, the bot- 

 tom of the upper one perforated. Place 

 a board or sheet of tin, with cleats 

 across the two ends, in the bottom of 

 the upper tin, and I don't know of any- 

 thing that will better answer the pur- 

 pose The only fault with a cap- 

 ping can of this kind is that they are 

 small, but as the tins cost only 5 cents 

 each, the apiarist can have plenty of 

 them. Twenty was about the right 

 number for me." — W. J. Young, in the 

 IVeslcrn Honey Bee, October, 1915. 



The" capping can," improperly called 

 "uncapping can," is the only imple- 

 ment ever devised by the writer. It 

 never was patented, and the Dadants 

 never manufactured it, so the afology 

 tvas unnecessary. The Western Honey 

 Bee is a very practical bee paper, and 

 its "suckers" are probably few. Living 

 in the " Sucker State" we have perhaps 

 more around us. But we dislike to 

 think that those of our readers who 

 keep bees in California and read the 

 Western Honey Bee also, might try to 

 follow the method of friend Young and 

 keep 20 tin vessels for a capping can, 

 to avoid the reputation of " suckers." 



In 1878, after 10 years' use of the 

 honey extractor, we had not yet found 

 a neat and practical method of drain- 

 ing the cappings and disposing of them. 

 We successively used a big bread pan, 

 a wash boiler, a tub with sieve and a 



Original Capping Can After 37 Years 

 Use 



American ^^e Journal 



tin-lined box made of pine lumber. 

 None of these implements was handy. 

 I wanted a light, capacious vessel, cap- 

 able of holding the cappings of an en- 

 tire day's extracting, draining them at 

 the same time. I also wanted to be 

 able to empty this readily of its cap- 

 pings as well as of the honey, haul it 

 about in a wagon, full or empty, or 

 leave the cappings in for a few days or 

 weeks if advisable. 



Our original honey extractor was 

 made at home, immediately after see- 

 ing the description of the invention in 

 the American Bee Journal, in April, 

 18G8. It was as cumbrous and clumsy 

 a machine as that shown in the cut in 

 that issue of the journal, under the 

 lengthy and unmelodious name of 

 " honey-emptying machine." This awk- 

 ward machine we were still using in 

 1878. 



A gentleman by the name of Everett 

 began manufacturing ^improved ma- 

 chines in Toledo, and called on us. We 

 gave him an order for an extractor or 

 two and then I described to him a plan 

 of my own to erect a capping-holder, a 

 capping can, to consist of two round 

 cans inside each other, the outer one 

 just like a large extractor can, the in- 

 ner one about a foot shallower, with 

 flaring walls, a strong sieve instead of 

 bottom, and resting on the upper inner 

 edge of the outer can, by a heavy rim. 

 He caught upon the idea and sent us a 

 receptacle as described, with additional 

 features to strengthen it, in the shape 

 of a braced pivot, in the center, sup- 

 oorting the center of the screen of the 

 inner vessel. A honey-gate at the bot- 

 tom permits drawing off the honey. 



The original capping can cost us $14. 

 They are now made of two vessels one 

 above the other and less expensive, else 

 a still less number of " suckers " would 

 use them. But this can was worth all 

 it cost, for we are still using it, after 37 

 years, which makes the annual cost, 

 exclusive of interest, 38 cents per year. 

 We show it in the adjoining half-tone. 

 It is much battered, having traveled 

 hundreds of times, in a wagon, over 

 rough hilly roads, while filled with 

 cappings and honey draining from 

 them. Any " sucker," who, like us, ex- 

 tracts tens of thousands of pounds of 

 honey each year, can well afford two 

 or three such capping cans. We have 

 several in use at present. The original 

 one has been repaired slightly a few 

 times, but will probably last as long as 

 any of them, for it was made out of 

 " old style tin." 



Our second capping can was made by 

 a manufacturer of low-priced extrac- 

 tors. It was so weak that it broke 

 down under its load of cappings the 

 very first time we hauled it home 

 with a part of the cappings of a day's 

 extracting. On receiving our com- 

 plaint, the manufacturer, who might 

 have known better, made the remark 

 that he had not thought of the need of 

 any strength in such an implement. 



Stationary capping tanks do not suit 

 us. They are usually made of wood, 

 tin-lined, and are so heavy and cum- 

 brous that it is out of the question to 

 haul them back and forth to outapi- 

 aries. The cappings cannot be poured 

 out, but have to be dipped out. The 

 " capping melter " is objectionable to 

 us, on account of the heat it produces. 



Original Capping Can with Strainer 

 Removed 



Honey extracting here is nearly 

 always done in hot weather, and such 

 an implement makes the room still 

 hotter. Besides, the honey which is 

 run out of heated cappings is colored, 

 loses its fine flavor and becomes a 

 third rate article, unfit to be mixed 

 with the crop. 



Our large capping can, empty, 

 weighs 40 pounds and is easily handled. 

 When full it requires two strong men 

 to carry it, and load it or unload it. 



A light wooden frame, notched to 

 fit, and set across the top of the cap- 

 ping can, permits the holding of the 

 frame and the uncapping of the comb 

 without injury to a sharp-edge honey- 

 knife. The filled can is allowed to re- 

 tain the cappings overnight. By that 

 time the honey is pretty well drained 

 out unless the night has been cool. If 

 any honey remains, the contents are 

 dumped into a large receptacle such as 

 an old empty can or a tank, to be 

 worked over at the end of the season. 

 So each day we do the uncapping oyer 

 a freshly emptied can. When the job 

 is finished, such cappings as may need 

 further draining are put back into the 

 capping can and remain there as long 

 as convenient. At the end of the sea- 

 son the cappings are washed to remove 

 all traces of sweetness and the water 

 obtained is passed through a fine sieve 

 and used to make vinegar. Thus noth- 

 ing is lost and quite a number of 

 "suckers" are following this method 

 with profit. 



Hamilton, 111. 



L. C. Root Improving. — Mr. L. C. Root 



son-in-law and old partner of the late 

 Moses Quinby, and reviser of the 

 Quinby book is successfully recover- 

 ing from a serious operation at his 

 home in Stamford, Conn. Mr. Root 

 recently celebrated his 75th birthday. 

 He is a great optimist, and this has 

 probably been greatly in his favor in 

 speeding his recovery. 



