1908 



Cl.KANINCS IN BEE CULTURE. 



751 



EXTRACTED - HONEY 

 PRODUCTION. 



Uncapping the Honey. 



liV \V. 7.. HUTCHINSON. 



Continiifil fiom List issiir. 



It is possible that the California 

 plan of melting the mappings as fast 

 as shaved otT may prove the most 

 desirable plan; but, so far as my 

 experience goes, I have found no- 

 thing better than letting the cap- 

 pings drop into a cracker-barrel set 

 over a tub. Some grocers give the 

 barrels away, if you are a custom- 

 er; some ask five cents apiece for 

 them, and I never paid over ten 

 cents. The cappings can be al- 

 lowed to stand and drain for «eeks 

 and weeks — no hurry about the 

 barrel; simply pay ten cents for an- 

 other one. 



I bore three or four holes in the 

 bottom of the barrel for the honey 

 to run out. This may not be 



CRACKER-BARREL FOR AN UNCAPPING-CAN. 



After a barrel is full it can be set to one side, over a tub; or 

 two or three barrels can be stacked up, one on top of the other, 

 and allowed to drain for weeks. The cappings can be brought 

 home, or even shipped by freight, right in the barrels. 



LAMP STOVL THAT KLLlVs 1 IIL U N CAPPIX G-K N I FE 

 HOT. 

 Honey extracted in hot weather, soon after it is gathered, may 

 not require a hot knife for its uncapping; but to uncap in the cool 

 weather of the fall, honey that has been on the hives all the sea- 

 son, a hot wet knife is almost a necessity. 



necessary, as such barrels are not water-tight; 

 but it is a wise precaution to be sure there is a 

 place for the honey to get out. Then I nail a 

 wooden cross-piece just inside the top of the bar- 

 rel; but before nailing the cross-piece in place I 

 drive through it a ten-penny nail; and when put- 

 ting the cross-piece in place I turn the point of 

 the nail upward. 



In uncapping a comb the end of the frame is 

 rested upon this nail-point, which comes as near 

 being a universal joint as any thing with which I 

 am acquainted. The frame can be turned "ev- 

 ery which way," and it will not slip about. The 

 barrel is supported over the tub, or slightly below 

 the top, by means of double hooks made of heavy 

 wire. In the accompanying engraving one of 

 these Jiooks is hung outside, upon one of the han- 

 dles, to show its shape and make-up. Four hooks 

 are used, placed equidistant around the edge of 

 the tub, and the barrel lowered down upon them, 

 the hooks catching just inside the "chime." 

 There is still another plan of supporting the bar- 

 rel that has the advantage of furnishing handles 

 with which to lift the barrel, and that is to nail 

 two slats of wood to the sides of the barrel, about 

 four inches from the lower end. The slats are 

 nailed to opposite sides of the barrel, at right an- 

 gles to the staves, and are long enough so that the 

 ends rest upon the upper edge of the tub. The 

 only objection to this plan is that the ends project 

 out slightly beyond the edges of the tub, and are 

 just a little in the way. 



After the honey is off the hives, and warmed 

 up, the biggest part of the remaining work is that 

 of uncapping the combs. If they are thick and 

 " bulging," they can be uncapped much more 

 easily. If only eight combs are used in a ten- 



