I'^OS 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1511 



UNCAPPING-KNIVES. 



Hot Knives 



Needed for Cold Thick 

 Honey. 



I have just read Mr. Robinson's article, page 

 1374. He refers to the use of water and hot 

 knives as foolishness, and he hits me, for I use 

 just that sort of plan. A shallow pan hangs on 

 the edge of the uncapping-box, with a large lamp 

 .or small oil-stove under it to supply the heat; 

 and as fast as a knife gets cold it is dropped into 

 the pan and another one picked up. It is true 

 that some honey gets into the water, and by and 

 by it becomes a syrup and goes into the vinegar- 

 barrel, and fresh water is substituted. 



Mr. Robinson rrfers to having sour honey. 

 Almost any kind of knife would do to slice cap- 

 pings from honey that is so thin and watery that 

 it will sour, and in a hot country like Texas. 



Here I can take honey right from the hives in 

 July or August, and uncap it very nicely with a 

 cold knife, but with a hot one it goes a whole 

 lot slicker. I can also heat honey in a house, 

 and when warmed, and the room kept at about 

 VO degrees, it may be uncapped fairly well with 

 a cold knife, but much better with a hot one. 

 And, what is more, when I come across a comb 

 of slowly gathered well-ripened honey, even when 

 just from the hive, it is difficult to cut it with a 

 cold knife; and sometimes, if the comb is new, it 

 will tear. It is a whole lot easier on one's wrist 

 and shoulder to have a knife so it will slip through 

 easily, and that is what the hot one does. 



The argument that the edge of a knife is so 

 thin that it cools instantly when in contact with 

 the cold honey, thus frustating the desired end, 

 is in part fallacious; but, even if true, the body 

 of the knife is yet hot, and the cappings and the 

 honey glide ofT, allowing a free and easy passage 

 through. 



But, Mr. Editor, there is not much to argue 

 about. If the vveather is hot, and the honey 

 naturally thin and easy to cut, nothing is gained 

 by heating — j ust use the knife cold. If the honey 

 is a little cold, or inclined to be thick and gum- 

 my, the kind that puts a smile all over that face 

 of Chalon Fowls when he gets a smack of it, 

 then by all means use a hot knife, and save time 

 and the shoulder and wrist ache. 



EXTRACTORS. 



Mr. Robinson speaks of not getting more than 

 two-thirds of the honey out after frost. That 

 statement needs qualifying to be clear. My first 

 extractor was a home-made one for two combs of 

 Langstroth size. I also used a Stanley reversible 

 a very little. Then I used a little two-frame 

 Root, non-reversible — one of those old-timers 

 with a little horizontal crank on top so that one 

 could speed it till it fairly sailed around. Since 

 then I have used a four-frame reversible, made 

 to order by the Root Co., the can a little bit 

 larger than the standard four-frame, because I 

 wished it to take in the American frame Now 

 for results. 



The pockets of my home-made machine were 

 hung close to the center-shaft, and I think it was 

 geared at least three to one. It was burned up, 

 so I am guessing at the gear, but it jerked the 



honey out. So also does that little old two- 

 frame Root machine, the pockets of which ate 

 also close to the center shaft, and the short crank 

 set horizontally makes the basket spin at from 

 200 to 400 revolutions per minute. It is a high 

 gear. My big four-frame reversible is geared 

 two to one,* and has a rather long overhand 

 crank. It is not effective except when the honey 

 is quite warm, and it has to be cranked fast even 

 then. 



A\ IMPROVEMENT IN EXTRACTORS SUGGESTED. 



Over a big iron can and cast-iron cross-beam 

 the gears make more noise than a railroad train, 

 and in the house they make altogether loo much 

 noise. Can not those gears be made of hard 

 wood or gutta-percha, or something less noisy.? 

 Possibly a wooden cross-arm would help to dead- 

 en thft noise. I would suggest that the ratio of 

 the gears be made greater so as to make a higher 

 speed possible. 



Loveland, Col. 



[Experiments are being made with a special 

 alloy for gears, with a view to reducing the 

 noise, and at the same time insure a smoother 

 running. — Ed.] 



STRAIGHT KNIFE PREFERRED. 



Yes, by all odds the straight knife, even a 16- 

 inch butcher-knife, is far ahead of the short 

 crooked-shank knife, as there is no side strain on 

 the hand, and a long sawing motion does far bet- 

 ter work. The point should be crooked a little, 

 or else a short curved knife be used for depres- 

 sions. A short bevel on the under side of the 

 knife is an improvement, as there is less friction. 



Mechanic Falls, Me. E. P. Churchill. 



I always use a sharp cold knife for uncapping. 

 I have never tried a hot knife. 



Luce, Mich. Wm. Craig. 



Heads of Grain 



From Different Fields 



BROOD DIES BECAUSE OF A LACK OF VITALITY 

 ON THE PART OF THE QUEEN. 



On page 1327 I notice that C. B. Fritts, of 

 Niles, Mich., has had trouble with brood dying 

 in a half-grown stage. We have been bothered 

 in the past by the same trouble, and at times we 

 find it in the darker bees. We feel very sure 

 that a weakness in the queen is the cause, and a 

 lack of proper vitality will show itself when the 

 larva is about half grown — by death. We ex- 

 perimented variously along this line till we found 

 a remedy, and then concluded we kne^' the cause. 

 We removed all brood, put the queen on founda- 

 tion, and fed sugar syrup. This reduced the 

 death-rate somewhat, but did not cure all. Some 

 hives would get over the trouble as the summer 

 went on, but others would still hold on to the 

 malady. 



One thing we noticed which made us feel that 

 a lack of vitality was the cause, was that, as 

 the hives were filled up with syrup, the trouble 



*All four-frame extractors are now geared three to one. — Ed. 



