142 



itrnm MMBMicnEf mmm j&ismmmEe. 



brood was always sealed up iu such 

 combs, by placing the cappings within 

 the cells, instead of on the outer face, 

 as is done with wax. Cells used for 

 storage will be built as deep as room 

 is given ; I myself have had them 

 drawn out 6 inches in depth. 



Starting with the above premise, 

 what is the natural conclusion ? I 

 have found it to be just that conclusion 

 in theory that experiment proves a 

 fact in practice, viz : with frames f of 

 an inch wide, spaced just bee-space 

 apart, the bees will fill all the cells 

 from top to bottom with brood, pro- 

 vided deeper cells, or wider spacing, 

 is used in the storage chamber. This 

 is not guess-work or theory. 



In experiments covering a term of 

 years. I have found the same results, 

 and without variation, in every in- 

 stance. Such being the fact, what 

 follows ? In answer, I will say, that 

 the brood is invariablj- reared in the 

 brood-chamber — the surplus is stored, 

 and at once, where it should be, and 

 no brace-combs are built ; and not 

 only this, but the rearing of drones is 

 kept well in hand, excess of swarming 

 is easily prevented, and, in fact, the 

 whole matter of bee-keeping work is 

 reduced to a minimum, all that is re- 

 quired being to start with sheets of 

 comb just ^ of an inch thick, and so 

 spaced that they cannot be built any 

 deeper. 



I trust that I have made myself un- 

 derstood ; I know that if the plan in- 

 dicated is followed, bee-keeping will 

 not only be found an easier pursuit, 

 but speedy progress will be made from 

 now on. 



North Attleboro, Mass. 



PRIZE ESSAY. 



Extracted Honey — Its Produc- 

 tion and Importance. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY S. A. SHUCK. 



Mr. A. I. Root, of Medina, O., says : 

 " In 1867, from 20 colonies I took "the 

 first thousand pounds of honey ever 

 taken with an extractor, and inci'eased 

 to 35 colonics. In 1869, I extracted 

 6,162 pounds of honey from 48 colo- 

 nies, and sold the iiroduct at 25 cents 

 per pound." 



It is now just 20 years since this 

 " Xovice " opened up the way to the 

 successful management of an apiary 

 for extracted honey ; yet he further 

 states that there are now over 10,000 

 of the original all-metal honey-extrac- 

 tors in use. 



In consideration of the facts that 

 honey-extractors are manufactured by 

 several firms, and that these machines 



are in use, not only in every State and 

 Province in the United States and 

 Canada, but in nearly ever}' civilized 

 nation on the globe, we can justly con- 

 clude that this business is of no mean 

 proportions, and its development lias 

 been wonderful indeed. 



The annual yield of honey in the 

 United States has been estimated at 

 200,000,000 pounds, or more, and it is 

 believed that two-thirds of this was 

 taken with the extractor. So great 

 has been the yield in favorable sea- 

 sons, that in some localities the price 

 was reduced to almost nothing. 



The wholesale adulteration of ex- 

 tracted honey with glucose and cheap 

 syrups, by unscrupulous dealers, had 

 much to do in reducing the price be- 

 low actual cost. However, these low 

 prices put an end to adulteration — at 

 least for a time. This, with an in- 

 creased effort on the part of hee-keep- 

 ers to maintain the puritj' of extracted 

 honey, and to prove its supei-iority over 

 sugar and syrups as a food element, 

 has placed the business in a more pros- 

 perous condition, and the prices re- 

 lized to-day are reasonably remunera- 

 tive. 



MANAGEMENT FOR EXTRACTED HONEY. 



The management of an apiary in a 

 good season for extracted honey, bj' 

 one who is enthusiastic in his business 

 efforts, is a matter of no small interest. 

 The incessant efibrt on the part of the 

 bees, as they hurry to and fro from the 

 hive in their endless search of every 

 nook and cranny of street, and lane, 

 and field,' and forest, lest a single drop 

 of the golden nectar, vouchsafed by an 

 all-wise Creator, be allowed to go to 

 waste ; and the rapidity with wliich 

 the combs are filled, and refilled, as 

 the apiarist empties and returns them 

 to the hive, are matters that interest 

 and excite the admiration of any and 

 all persons who have a love for the 

 works of Nature. 



The bee-keeper who is well equipped 

 for the management of an apiary for 

 extracted honey, has a good supply of 

 surplus combs. All combs used iu the 

 management of an apiary on modern 

 principles, are built in light frames. 

 These frames are either square or ob- 

 long, owing to the fancy of the bee- 

 keeper, and are suspended in a plain 

 box, each box containing from six to 

 a dozen, or more, of these frames, the 

 number being governed mostly by the 

 box or hive. 



The combs are a little less than an 

 inch iu thickness, and are spaced 

 about li inches from center to center 

 in tlie hive. This enables the bees to 

 pass and re-pass between the combs. 



When the honey season comes on, 

 which, in Ihe latitude of Chicago, is 

 about the first of June, the bee-keeper 



places two or more of these boxes to- 

 gether, one above the other. The bees 

 gather the nectar from the fiowers and 

 place it in the combs. This nectar, 

 when first taken from the flowers, is 

 very thin and watery, but owing to the 

 great number of bees in a hive, the 

 temperature is kept up to a sufficient 

 degree to keep up evaporation, and by 

 persistent effort on the part of the Ijees 

 in ventilating the hive day and night, 

 the water is evaporated from tliis nec- 

 tar, and it becomes honej-. Then the 

 bees seal it up in the combs, and they 

 are readj- to be taken from the hives, 

 and the honey extracted from them. 



In some localities, such as Southern 

 California, Florida and some other . 

 Southern States, many bee-keepers ex- 

 tract the honey from the combs before 

 the bees seal it up. In this case, the 

 honey is placed in lai-ge vessels and 

 evaporated, or ripened, by the heat of 

 the sun, or run through an evaporating 

 apparatus somewhat similar to that 

 used in reducing cane-juice to syrups. 



THE HONEY-EXTRACTOR AND ITS USE. 



The machine used for taking the 

 hone}- from the combs is called an 

 "extractor," and consists of a large 

 can with a revolving rack in it. This 

 rack is constructed so as to hold tvpo 

 or moi'e of the honey-combs in a verti- 

 cal position. When the combs have 

 been capped or sealed over by the 

 bees, the cappings are removed with 

 a sharp knife ; the combs are then 

 placed in the revolving rack in the ex- 

 tractor-can. By means of a simple 

 crank, or small gearmg, the rack is 

 set in motion, and turned with suffi- 

 cient velocity to throw the honey from 

 the outer side of the combs, by what 

 is known as centrifugal force. The 

 combs are reversed, and the same pro- 

 cess frees the honey from the opposite 

 side. 



The honey thus thrown from the 

 combs strikes against the sides of the 

 can, and runs to the bottom, to be 

 drawn out by a faucet. This is called 

 "extracting," and, in consequence, the 

 honey is called " extracted honey." 



The honey is drawn from the ex- 

 tractor and placed in open vessels, 

 usually large barrels, and allowed to 

 stand until the small particles of comb 

 that were dislodged by the uneapping- 

 knife, rise to the surface. After re- 

 moving these bits of comb, the honey 

 is placed in vessels suitable for market- 

 ing, and secured against dust and in- 

 sects. Honey in this condition, with 

 few exceptions, will granulate as soon 

 as the weather becomes cool ; and 

 when the weather becomes cold and 

 freezing, it becomes quite hard. It 

 can be reduced to a liquid state by 

 heating slowly, but it should not be 

 allowed to boil, as it becomes dark in 



