76 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



The furniture consists of two four- 

 barrel, g-alvanized, steel tanks, with 

 1)4. inch perfection gate, one two-frame 

 Cowan extractor, one uncapping box, 

 platform scales, wheelbarrow, two 

 Bingham uncapping knives, besides 

 our smokers, veils, robber-cloths, 

 pails, etc. These, with the 60-pound 

 cans to hold the honey, and what 

 combs there maj' be left in the house 

 during the extracting, will make it 

 necessary to keep everything in its 

 place; and, even then, a good manj' 

 times our piles of fixtures are stacked 

 up clear to the roof. Sometimes we 

 are a little crowded, especially at the 

 last extracting when all our combs 

 come in. 



We like to have our tanks large 

 enough to hold a day's extracting, as 

 we do not like to can up honey the 

 same day it is extracted. Our old 

 tanks, that we put in when we com- 

 menced starting out-yards, were too 

 small, so that we had to can some of 

 the forenoon's extracting to give us 

 room to work; but we do not like to do 

 this, as the honey ought to stand at 

 least over night, for the impurities to 

 separate before it is canned. 



A SIMPLE, CHEAP UNCAPPING BOX. 



Probably as good an uncapping box 

 as any is a cracker barrel with the 

 bottom loosened up so that the honey 

 will drain through and still hold the 

 cappings. Set the barrel over a small- 

 sized wash tub, having two strips of 

 board across the top to keep the barrel 

 up and out of the hone3'. These strips 

 of board can be let down in the tub so 

 the bottom of the barrel will be a little 

 lower than the top of the tub, then all 

 of the honej' will be sure to drip in- 

 side. If the barrel is too high, it can 

 be sawed off the right height. Then 

 there must be some kind of a frame 

 across the top of the barrel to rest 

 combs on while uncapping. When 

 this uncapping-box needs emptying, 

 we can dump the contents into a larger 



barrel arranged the same way. We 

 aim to empty our cappings in the 

 morning, after thev' have drained over 

 night. 



HOW TO ARRANGE THINGS INSIDE 

 THE HOUSE. 



The arrangement of things inside 

 the house that suits us as well as any, 

 and probably takes up as little room 

 as any, is to have our tank in the 

 the back, left hand corner, extending 

 along the side. This occupies the 

 space between the end of the building 

 and the window. Then comes the ex- 

 tractor, with the gate toward the tank. 

 Next the uncapping box. Then the 

 hone}', as it is wheeled in, is unload- 

 ed on the same side next to the un- 

 capping box. This arrangement 

 leaves the middle of the room clear, so 

 there is nothing in the wa}' when we 

 wheel in our load of honey. The back 

 end, and right hand side near the back 

 end, are used as a store corner. We 

 also store our honey and emptj', 60- 

 pound cans along the right hand side 

 towards the front. 



In my next I will give m}- method of 

 getting the bees off the combs, uncap- 

 ping and extracting. 



Remus, Mich, Jan, 23, 1904. 



[The reader will see that there are 

 two methods of managing out- apiaries; 

 the one described by Mr. Townsend, 

 that of having a good house, well-fur- 

 nished, at each j'ard, and thus being 

 able to pick up, at a moment's notice, 

 going with a bugg}', or on a bicycle, 

 and finding everj'thing right at hand 

 ready for work. The other method is 

 on the circus plan, that of not only 

 carrying the tools and implements 

 from j'ard to yard, but of carrying 

 along a tent to be used as an extract- 

 ing-house. The first mentioned plan is 

 more costly to inaugurate, but I be- 

 lieve it will be fully as satisfactory in 

 the end — Ed. Review] 



