1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



395 



General 

 Correspondence 



EXTENSIVE EXTRACTED-HONEY PRO- 

 DUCTION. 



A Full Power Equipment at Each Apiary; 

 a Valuable Article. 



BY E. M. GIBSON. 



On page 273, May 1, Mr. Sires asks, "Why 

 can we not have more articles from the large 

 honey-producers, describing the equipment 

 used in operating and handling bees and 

 honey on a large scale, such as honey-houses, 

 extracting-houses, etc.?" No doubt 99 out of 

 every 100 would answer, "Lack of time." 

 I do not know that I could be classed among 

 the large producers of honey; but I have 

 tiiree apiaries, in each of which there is an 

 eight-frame extractor with power attach- 

 ments. I have not had the engine installed 

 in mv last house built last winter; but I have 

 the foundation built, and all the necessary 

 arrangements made to receive it. I can see 

 no economy in hauling machinery back and 

 forth. I also have every other appliance to 

 equip each house. When I start for an out- 

 apiary, about all I have to think of is the 

 lunch-box which I have been fortunate 

 enough never to forget. 



I have rock foundations for my engines, 

 bui.t from the cellar bottom up to the floor, 

 with bolts five feet long imbedded in the 

 rock, and fastened to the skid which the en- 

 gines are built on. Above the floor is con- 

 crete, 17 to 20 inches high, and large enough 

 to accommodate amply the engine. The en- 

 gine raised above the floor is more easily 

 watched, to see that the sight oil-cup does 

 not get emptjs to clean, etc. 



I do not use the device sent out with the 

 extractors for tightening or loosening the 

 belt. I have a pulley, the kind used for win- 

 dow-weights, fastened to the rafters over- 

 head, directly over the idler on the extract- 

 or, and another pulley, also fastened to the 

 same rafters directly in line with the first 

 pulley. A rope is attached to the idler, and 

 passed through the before-mentioned pulley, 

 and down to a foot pedal easily in reach of 

 the foot of the decapper, who can manipu- 

 late the idler with both hands full. The 

 idler is put on so that the belt is tightened 

 from the under side. On the floor is fasten- 

 ed a ratchet so the belt can be made as tight 

 as desired. When the decapper has three 

 frames ready for the extractor, and is about 

 to start on tne fourth, he can kick the pedal 

 out of the ratchet; and by the time the fourth 

 one is ready the extractor will have slowed 

 down to about the right speed for the opera- 

 tor to reach the brake and reverse the bas- 

 kets, when the foot again tightens the belt. 

 When the seventh frame is ready, and the 

 operator is about to start the eighth, the 

 pedal is again kicked off and the machine 



left to slow down; and, if not quite stopped 

 when the eighth frame is finished, will be 

 running so slowly that but little effort will 

 be required to stop it. 



COMBS SHOULD NOT BE REVERSED MORE THAN 

 ONCE. 



Here is the place to digress long enough 

 to correct Dr. C. C. Miller and A. I. Root 

 in relation to reversing the baskets more 

 than once to prevent breaking the combs. 

 This idea looks feasible in theory, but does 

 not work in practice. But few if any will be- 

 lieve this, however, without testing it. The 

 discovery was made by us by accident since 

 using the power extractor. Since reading 

 an article by A. I. Root several years ago on 

 that topic I have practiced this plan with 

 new combs. Last summer the person oper- 

 ating the machine, which was filled with new 

 combs, forgot to Aise the foot pedal, and the 

 machine got under full speed. The operator 

 thought the combs would be ruined, but, to 

 his surprise, not a comb was injured. We 

 then gave the matter a test both ways, and 

 broke far less combs by reversing but once 

 than by two or more times. 



I think this can be accounted for in two 

 ways. First, in reversing the baskets sev- 

 eral times the combs are bent back and forth 

 to such an extent that they are weakened; 

 second, in once reversing the body of the 

 honey itself on the reverse side through the 

 action of the centrifugal force, it has a tenden- 

 cy to support and stiffen the cell walls, and 

 this helps to support the entire comb. A 

 demonstration of the facts can be made by 

 any one, as the honey season is at hand. 



I hope some one will give the matter a fair 

 trial, using combs of the same age, filled and 

 capped as nearly alike as possible (decap- 

 ping weakens combs to some extent) , and, 

 if possible, use a power-driven extractor, 

 letting the machine run to its limit in each 

 case. This will give the same speed in each 

 trial more evenly than can be done by hand. 

 Returning to Mr. Sires' inquiries, I would 

 say I do not use storage-tanks. The extractor 

 stands on the floor, and the honey-gate is 

 left open while extracting. The honey passes 

 through a hole in the floor on to a strainer 

 covering the whole top of a tank holding 

 2500 lbs. From here it is drawn into cans, 

 and the tops screwed down with a screw-top 

 wrench. I allow my honey to ripen in the 

 hives instead of in storage-tanks. 



Some one may make the objection that it 

 does not pay to put money into machinery to 

 lie idle nine months out of twelve. How 

 about the farmers of the country, who have 

 millions invested in implements which they 

 use but a few weeks during the whole year, 

 and yet they would not think of going back 

 to old methods. I know of bee-keepers in 

 this State who are in the business to stay, 

 who are still using old home-made rattle-traps 

 for extractors from which the combs have to 

 be taken out and turned; old dilapidated 

 hives of different sizes in the same apiary; 

 gunny sacks for honey-houses; tin cans for 

 smokiers, and scores of other just as ridici- 

 lous makeshifts. 



