1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



245 



info the cells front which it came? Ay, 

 there's the rub. 



It is true that Cog-g-shall has tin separa- 

 tors between his pairs of combs; but his 

 extractors, you will bear in mind, are not 

 reversible, and the surface of the tins is 

 not reversed. 



I myself never saw the difficulty in the 

 way until Mr. J. F. Mclntyre, of Califor- 

 nia, pointed it out to me. — Ecj 



TWO VS. FOUR FRAME HONEY-EXTRACTORS ; 



EXTRACTING IN A WHOLESALE WAY; 



CRITICISMS. 



We have noticed a great many remarks 

 in regard to the relative merits of the differ- 

 ent sizes of honey-extractors, and among 

 them Rambler's suggestion in Ramble 193, 

 that some one should make a test. This 

 prompts us to report our experiences with 

 them. 



We have eight different apiaries, and 

 keep an extractor at each place. This 

 gives us a chance to test the machines un- 

 der the same conditions, and with the same 

 men, and here are the results: 



The two-frame Cowan is all right for 

 light work (what we mean by this is where 

 you have time to use care in handling). It 

 is the easiest to move and to run, and is 

 suitable for up to 150 colonies of bees. It 

 is not strong enough to stand forcing, such 

 as is necessary where a gang of four men 

 are working in the apiary, as in our case. 

 We have never been able to force one for a 

 day without having trouble in keeping set- 

 screws tight; and, in fact, many little 

 things go wrong. The most that we have 

 extracted with this size in one day was 26 

 cases, July 25th. 



The four-frame is our choice, every thing 

 considered — the cost, room required to ma- 

 nipulate, and strength required to run it. 

 Its capacity is about equal to the amount 

 of heavy combs that an experienced uncap- 

 per can turn off, and it will keep two men 

 busy bringing the honey in. We find that 

 we can average about two tons a day with 

 it under favorable conditions. 



But when it comes to doing a really 

 wholesale job, give us a six-frame. A good 

 strong man can do just twice as much with 

 it as he can with the two-frame, and do it 

 with less hustling. It is easier on the 

 combs, and does cleaner work than either 

 of the others, and ordinarily the operator 

 does not have to pay any attention to paring 

 up the combs (that is, keeping the heavy 

 combs opposite so that they will balance). 

 It is a splendid machine, and will handle 

 all the combs that you can bring to it, as 

 two men can work to advantage on it in 

 case of a rush. 



Now for a little honest criticism. The 

 manufacturer evidently does not realize to 

 what an extent we have to crowd our ex- 

 tractors in the large apiaries of Southern 

 California. While the extractors are un- 

 doubtedly very near perfection for a little 

 gentler use, we find the monkey-wrench, a 

 few rivets, and set-screws (to say nothing 

 of brake-bands and a soldering-outfit) are 

 necessary to keep even the newest, largest, 

 and strongest in shape for good work. In 

 the first place, the handle will not stay on 

 the shaft. Why is only one set-screw used 

 there, and two ever3'where else? We have 

 overcome that difficulty by the use of a key 

 carefully fitted and driven home to stay. 

 But even now the set- screws work loose 

 every little while, allowing one gear or the 

 other to slip, and even the basket to start 

 out on an independent revolution. The 

 brakes are a great help, but do not stand 

 up to the work. Ours all gave out this sea- 

 son one or more times. The band breaks 

 where the screw holds it on the lever. The 

 continual bending is too much for it. These 

 little things can easily be made secure 

 without any perceptible cost to the maker, 

 and we believe that it will help to make 

 better bee-men, not to say Christians. 



Emerson Bros. 



Santa Ana, Cal., Nov. 15. 



[From my own personal experience (and 

 you know I have helped to extract in Cali- 

 fornia with two, four, and six frame ma- 

 chines), I believe you are pretty nearly 

 right; and I know you are right in regard 

 to the use of the set-screws. The Root Co. 

 will undoubtedly make a. change. — Ed.] 



FULL FIVE-BANDED ITALIANS. 



Mr. Root: — I was very much surprised 

 at your remarks in Dec. 1st Gleanings in 

 regard to golden Italian queens. I was also 

 glad to note that a friend, Mr. H. H. Hyde, 

 has replied to that statement, and at the 

 same time I am sorry to note that you are 

 still unconvinced that there are straight 

 five-banded Italian queens, or, in other 

 words, golden queens producing straight 

 five-banded workers. I wish to add my 

 word to that of Mr. Hyde, for I have not 

 only seen a large number of such queens, 

 but have owned them, and last season sent 

 out about 25 straight golden queens — those 

 whose bees showed five yellow bands. 

 Neither mj'self nor Mr. Hyde now have 

 queens for sale, and this is not said with 

 the hope of any pecuniary reward. 



I also notice that you made a short tour 

 of Texas last summer, and have run these 

 travels through Gleanings, and have now 

 got to Arizona in your travels, and you have 

 not said a word about the great Texas 

 product, bulk comb honey. I should like to 

 see it properly shown up in Gleanings, 

 also to have your opinion on it after going 

 through the very heart of the country where 

 it is produced, and talking to some of its 

 main producers. I hope you will again 



