July, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



423 



ulating the supers that they go back on the 

 hive whence they came. From the fact that 

 they use a tent for extracting, and tote su])ers 

 by man power, it might seem their methods 

 are laborious and crude. We must judge a 

 system by its results, for thej^ not only oper- 

 ate 1,800 colonies but are among the most 

 successful beekeepers in southern California. 



Their hives and equipment arc first-class 

 in every respect. One of their apiaries 

 is one of the prettiest in all the State. Four 

 liuudred colonies all in one location! 

 Orange as a Source of Honey. 



When the explanation is made that they 



ait' on a private orange ranch where no 

 other bees can come, it is clear that this 

 is possible. When the conditions are right 

 the orange is an enormous yielder of honey, 

 and some have said that it would be difficult 

 to overstock; but that there is overstocking, 

 even in orange, I have no doubt. In Eiver- 

 side County alone, thousands of colonies 

 from other States are moved into the orange 

 districts every year, thus cutting down, the 

 yields per colony. The California beekeepers 

 put up no complaint, because some of them 

 move up into Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. 

 It is a case of reciprocity. 



Pi?. 10. — One of the apiaries of (Jr. B. Jjarinan, Pai^adpna, wlin owns and operates over one thousand colonies. 

 He uses permanent extracting-houses at each location, as he prefers to operate with an eight-frame power- 

 extractor outfit, and have plenty of room for supers and equipment. 



PRESSING CAPPINGS DRY 



An Interesting Plan for Extracting 



the Honey from Cappings by Means 



of Great Pressure 



By R. F. Holtermann 



DUEING the 

 last 35 or 

 ^ 40 years it 



has cost me 

 thousands of dol- 

 lars going to 

 conventions and 

 visiting bee- 

 keepers, but in 

 that way I have 



learned a good many things — learned from 

 those who knew more in general about bee- 

 keeping than I, and also learned from those 

 who were not so well informed, but who 

 on some specific points knev/ more than I 

 did. I have always endeavored to give 

 credit to the one to whom credit was due. 



Among the number attending the lectures 

 for commercial beekeepers given at Cornell 

 University there was an extensive beekeeper 

 by the name of Orlando W. Bedell of Earl- 

 ville N. Y. Mr. Bedell very kindly told me 

 about a capping-press he had designed for 

 the purpose of pressing the honey from the 

 cappings immediately after they are sliced 

 from the combs. He showed me a sample 

 of the wax "cheese." It appeared to be 

 very compact, almost as solid as wax, and 

 perfectly dry. After taking a piece in my 

 n\outh and chewing it, I found it only very 

 slightly sweet. Mr. Bedell told me that the 

 plan removes practically all of the honey 



from the cap- 

 pings without, 

 of course, injur- 

 ing it in any 

 way, as there is 

 no heat. 



In my own ex- 

 perience in al- 

 lowing cappings 

 to stand 24 

 hours to drain there is still 11/^ per cent of 

 the total honey left in the cappings, and 

 most beekeepers have as much as 2 per cent. 

 Allowing for the actual depreciation in 

 value, this averages a vearly loss to me of 

 $100. F. W. Lesser of East Syracuse, N. Y., 

 who has seen the result of the work done 

 with the press, speaks very highly of it, as 

 does also that well known beekeeper, S. J) 

 House of Camillus, N. Y. 



How Operated. 

 The cappings fall from the knife directly 

 into the circular "hoop" or cylinder made 

 of staves; and when one hoop contains all 

 it will hold it is shoved along under the 

 press, and the honey pressed out. The 

 ' ' cheeses ' ' handle like solid bricks and can 

 be put aside until a convenient time for 

 melting into solid cakes. 



I must confess that after considerable 

 experience, I do not like the capping-melter. 

 With proper care, and everything in order. 



