1908 



GLEANINGS IN I;i:E CULTURE. 



811 



EXTRACTED-HONEY PRODUCTION. 



Straining the Honey. 



BY \V. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



Continued from lust issue. 



An extractor with a strainer in the bottom 

 probably possesses some advantages. One is, that 

 it can be set at a less height from the floor, as no 

 space has to be used for the strainer-tub. We 

 have always used an ordinary gal- 

 vanized wash-tub, with a honey- 

 gate in one side near the bottom, 

 and the top covered with cheese- 

 cloth sewed to a wire hoop slightly 

 larger than the top of the tub. We 

 have several of these cheese-cloth 

 strainers; and when one becomes so 

 filled up or covered with pieces of 

 wax that it strains slowly we re- 

 move it and lay it over another tub, 

 or a barrel of cappings, until the 

 honey has all drained through, 

 when the accumulation of cappings 

 and thick honey is scraped off with 

 the honey-knife. I have been told 

 that it would be better to have the 

 cloth strainer more in the nature of 

 a sack, nearly large enough to fill 

 the tub and rest upon its bottom; 

 then the sides of the sack would re- 

 main free from cappings; and act as 

 a strainer without becoming clog- 

 ged. In a horizontal strainer, such 

 as we have been using, the trouble 

 is that the cappings settle upon the 

 strainer and soon clog it, while the 

 sides of a sack, being perpendicular, 

 remain free from cappings, and do 

 not clog in a long time. 



FILLING THE CANS. 



Honey produced according to the 

 plans described in the previous arti- 

 cles is ready to go directly from the 

 extractor into the cans or barrels; in 

 fact, it is better that it should be 

 canned up at once, as there is less 

 loss of flavor or aroma. There is 

 also a saving of time, as it is only 

 necessary to remove a full can and 

 put under an empty one while doing 

 the work of extracting. To know 

 when a can was full, without stand- 

 ing by watching it, was one of the 

 problems that 1 had to solve, and I 

 did it by using an electric alarm, on 

 the principle of an electric door- 

 bell; in fact, I used the identical 

 outfit that is used for a door-bell. 

 Almost every one is familiar with 

 this arrangement that rings a bell 

 when a current of electricity is sent 

 through its mechanism. When the 

 button in the door is pressed, an 

 electric circuit is completed, and, as 

 a result, the bell rings out in the 

 kitchen, or wherever it is placed. 

 If the complete filling of a can or 

 barrel could be made to complete 

 an electric circuit within which is 



an electric bell, then an alarm would be given. 

 I solved the problem by so arranging matters 

 that the raising of the brass beam of a pair of 

 platform scales closed the circuit. The battery 

 used is one of the ordinary dry-cell batteries, 

 such as are used for telephones, door-bells, or for 

 furnishing a spark for a gasoline-engine. Be sure 

 to get a good battery. If you can get only the 

 cheapest kind, better get two cells and connect 

 them, as the connections upon the scale-beam are 



PERFECTION DUPLICATING SCALES. 

 This arrangement not only weighs the honey but it closes the gate when the can 

 is full, and rings a bell to let the attendant know that it is full. It can be used to 

 weigh almost any size of package or commodity, duplicating the weight exactly, 

 and doing the work automatically. 



