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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



were second-hand. I washed each thoroughly 

 and left the caps off, storing the cans in an attic. 

 I ast year, six years after leaving the cans, 1 sent 

 for the same. Each can was still as sweet and 



bright as a new can. . , . i- „»^, 



New cans should be rinsed with boiling water 

 (I mean water that is actually boiling, bubbling 

 with steam) at least twice. They should then be 

 drained and left in a dry place with the caps oft 

 They will be perfectly dry, without any rust, in 

 a few hours. Or if they must be filled with hon- 

 ey immediately, most of the water can be shaken 

 out and much expelled by drumming on the hot 

 can What little is left will be absorbed by the 

 honey, or can be removed from within the outlet 

 as it lies on top of the risen honey. Every can 

 should be completely filled— not have 60 pounds 

 put into it, but be filled till no air is left in the 

 can It is not good practice to leave an air-space 

 above the honey in a can. If the honey is not 

 sold before the next summer, that honey will be 



injured. v i,« 



Mr Burnett speaks of rusty cans from a bake- 

 ry Now, those cans had never been washed 

 out They may have been rinsed once, but they 

 were left with thin honey in them. Thin honey 

 is far worse than water in a can, and even thick 

 honey will injure a can if there in small amounts. 

 The reason is plain. The honey is hydroscopic, 

 and attracts the moisture which is in the air with- 

 in the can. Every drop of honey is thus helping 

 to rust the tin about the edge of the drop. Only 

 this late fall I had occasion to open up several 

 cans which had been left for three or four years 

 without washing. These cans were nearly ruin- 

 ed About half a pound of honey was in each, 

 and that honey had caused the rusting of pretty 

 much the entire interior of those cans, in sharp 

 contrast with these cans was one or perhaps two 

 which had been well rinsed. 



I may have expressed myself rather strongly in 

 what I have said, but the case seems to demand 

 it. Do not, I pray every reader of Gleanings, 

 adopt the advice of Mr. Burnett. I should not 

 like my honey served to me froin an unwashed 

 can, and I have found it an excellent plan in all 

 my honey-selling to treat my customers as 1 

 should like to be treated. 

 Norwich, Conn. 



[Sometimes honey will absorb water and some- 

 times not. Much depends upon the climate or 

 room where the surface of the honey is exposed. 

 In a furnace- heated house, if there be no w_ater- 

 pan used in the furnace, honey will become thick- 

 er—that is, evaporate. In a climate near a large 

 body of water or elsewhere during a long rainy 

 spell, honey will absorb water. In Mr. Latham s 

 climate (next to the ocean) it would do precisely 

 that; hence his advice to wash honey smearings 

 off in his locality is sound. 



But in most inland towns a coating of honey 

 on the inside of a tin honey-extractor, for exam- 

 ple will do no harm. Indeed, we once heard 

 Dr. Miller say he would rather have the honey 

 . on than off, as it would prevent rust. 



In the matter of washing out new cans, we be- 

 lieve Mr. Latham is right. We are not sure that 

 second-hand cans that had contained good honey 

 would need washing if the caps were put back 

 after emptying. We should be glad to hear 

 from others, including Mr. Burnett.— Ed. J 



UNCAPPING A WHOLE FRAME AT 

 ONE STROKE. 



\ Strong Plea for a Sharp Knife Without ' 

 an Offset Handle. 



BY W. A. CHRYSLER. 



I think that any practical bee-keeper who has 

 properly built extracting-combs and knife should 

 be able to remove from his extracting-supers the 

 combs of all sealed honey, uncap them, and set 

 them to one side ready for extracting, at the rate 

 of from 100 to 150 combs per hour; and, if done 

 properly, there will be no need of even wiping off 

 the knife during that time But some may say, 

 " If you had honey as thick as mine you couldn t 

 do it." I might say that I believe I have as 

 thick honey as the most of us; even the thick 

 waxy alsike honey. I will admit that newly 

 built combs, the first season, are slower and not 

 so easily uncapped; but, even so, if the knife is 

 properly constructed, and used in a certain way, 

 there is no need of using a hot one. 



One who has ever cut belt lacing with a jack- 

 knife knows that some one must hold the end of 

 the lacing tight, as well as the piece that is being 

 cut. It would be utterly useless to try to cut it 

 without holding the end of the lacing tight. 



In the first place, according to my ideas a hon- 

 ey-knife should be long enough to take cappings 

 from the whole of one side of the frame at one 

 stroke The blade of the knife should not be 

 over Xyi inches wide at most, and I prefer a blade 

 about one inch wide with but one cutting edge 

 sharpened straight from back to edge. Both 

 sides of the blade should be made as smooth as 

 possible, and the edge should be jArtr/^. One 

 cutting edge to a honey-knife is all that is suffi- 

 cient unless for the convenience of both right and 

 left handed operators. The deflection in the 

 handles of honey-knives of many that are on the 

 market is overdone. If we are to uncap conibs 

 with one stroke of the knife on each side (and 1 

 think it is the proper way of uncapping) there is 

 no need of a deflection of the handle. To un- 

 cap set the bottom end on a point or swivel; 

 leai^ the top end past the perpendicular; begin to 

 uncap the overhanging side, and from the bottom 

 end of the comb, drawing upward with a seesaw 

 motion. As you proceed upward it cuts easier; 

 and probably when about half way up you will 

 find it unnecessary (owing to the weight of the 

 overhanging capping) to seesaw; but just draw 

 the knife straight up and the capping will drop 

 in one sheet. Treat the other side of the comb 

 in the same manner. The weight of the capping, 

 pulling straight down, draws the capping from 

 the toP of the knife, and keeps the edge free to 

 cut similar to some one holding the belt lacing 

 tieht, as referred to. Wide-bladed, rusty, and 

 bluntly ground knives, with deflected handles, 

 only rend to teach the bee-keeper to uncap from 

 the top side of the comb, and to educate him to 

 be a putterer all his days, especially at that worm. 

 Chatham, Ont., Dec. 28. 



[Mr Chrysler has made a good argument for 

 a straight, sharp, cold blade. This is getting to 

 be interesting, as it begins to appear \haX perhaps 

 we have been working in old ruts. This is an 

 important subject. Let's hear from others.— Ld.J 



