234 



THE AMERTCAK BEE JOURNAL. 



[For the ALoerican Bee Journal.] 



About Uncapping. 



Mr. Editor : — :Your correspoudeat, I. F. Til- 

 linghast, in the March No. of the Bee Journal, 

 comiilaiiis of having had a good deal of trouhle 

 in uncapping combs of honey, and begs infor- 

 mation of any who may have had better success 

 in the matter. I took out several hundred pounds 

 of honey with my emptier last fall, without find- 

 ing any difficulty in uncapping; and if my ex- 

 perience will help your correspondent, I will 

 gladly tell him how I did it. 



I think his difficulties in uncapping must have 

 arisen from the fact that he neglected to keep his 

 knife toarm while performing the operation. If 

 this precaution is well observed, almost any good- 

 sized knife will answer — although some are bet- 

 ter than others. Sometimes I use a butcher 

 knife ; at others, an ordinary dinner or tea knife. 

 The longer and thinner the blade is, and the 

 shari^er the edge, the better. My favorite instru- 

 ment is a jyaliot knife, about ten inches long, 

 sharpened on both edges, and bent near the han- 

 dle like a mason's trowel. But the knife, of 

 whatever kind, must be kept warm. 



In uncapping I usually employ two kniveS. 

 One I keep in a vessel of hot water, while using 

 the other. When the knife in use becomes too 

 cold to work nicely, I return it to the vessel, take 

 out the other, pass it through a cloth to dry and 

 cleanse it, and proceed as before. In this waj^ 

 combs can be uncapped very rapidly and so 

 smoothly that they will not look as if " mice had 

 done it." But if the uncapping were ever so 

 nicely and effectually accomplished, I should still 

 be very unwilling to undertake to empty combs 

 that Iiad stood any length of time, without bees, 

 in a cold room, as'late in the season as October. 

 I empiied combs in October last ; but it was done 

 immediately after the bees had been taken from 

 the hives. In a few instances the combs stood 

 some time, but they were kept in a warm room, 

 not however "behind the stove !" 



Mrs. M. D. Miner. 

 OlenviUe, W. Y., March 31, 1870. 



To Stupefy Bees. 



Put two teaspoonsful of chloroform into a cup ; 

 soak a bit of rag in it ; then put tbe rag into the 

 box or hive, closing the entrance. The bees 

 will almost immediately begin to drop, and in 

 less than ten minutes every bee will be stupefied. 

 They will recover in about half an hour ; but 

 will not fully recover their activity till next 

 morning. 



As, in April, brood is rapidly maturing in the 

 hives, there is a largely increased demand for 

 honey, and great care should be taken to prevent 

 the bees from sufi'ermg for want of food. — Lang- 

 eirotJi. 



[For the Americau Bee Journal.] 



Tlncapping Cells. 



I was interested in reading the trials of a cor- 

 respondent in uncapping honey for his machine. 

 I use a knife which I procured from Mr. Lang- 

 stroth, with my first machine. It is thin, like a 

 bread or shoe knife, eight or ten inches long. 

 The shank is bent, so that the handle sets off 

 about an inch, on a line parallel with the blade. 

 One man can uncap nearly as fast as another can 

 extract the honey w'ith the machine. I keei) the 

 knife sharp, and have never tried heating or in 

 any other way preparing it. 



In the fall, or winter, the combs must be kept 

 in a warm room a few hours, till they have be- 

 come warmed through. In the summer it makes 

 no perceptible ditference wiiethert he honey is ex- 

 tracted the day it is removed from the hive, or 

 not. Any one who is going to get out honey 

 every day or two, in the summer, will find it a 

 great convenience to have a complete can for the 

 rack to revolve in, and a place near the bottom 

 for drawing oS" the honey. A cover of cotton 

 cloth may then be thrown over the top, or tied 

 on, thus completely excluding all flies and bees. 

 Mine holds fifty pounds under the rack. 



Caution should be used, or too much honey 

 may be removed from the hive, for the good of the 

 swarm. It is better to leave honey enough, than 

 to remove it, and depend on feeding. 



J. L. Hubbard. 



Bueksburg, N. /., IMarch, 1870. 



Bees seldom swarm if honey is not so abundant 

 that they can gather more than they need for im- 

 mediate consumption. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Honey Knives. 



For the benefit of Mr. I. F. Tilliughast and 

 "whom it may concern," I will give a descrip- 

 tion of my honey knives. 



No. 1 is made of a piece of an old woodsaw. 

 The bladeis veiy thin and springy, sixteen inches 

 long, exclusive of the handle. Tlie teeth are re- 

 moved smoothly. One side ground to an edge ; 

 end sciuare and also ground to an edge. Tlie 

 other end is mounted to a flat wooden handle, 

 fastened on with four hickory pins, instead of 

 iron rivets. This knife gives me entire satisfac- 

 tion in slicing oS" unequalities on combs, uncajD- 

 ping cells, &c. Its length and elasticity enable 

 me to use it on crooked combs. 



No. 3 is like No. 1, only the blade is thick and 

 firm ; good for loosening old combs oh box hives 

 when transferring, and otherwise where No. 1 

 would be too limber. 



No. 3 is a thin-bladed bread knife, eight inches 

 long, bought at a hardware store. This I use 

 about honey boxes, and wherever it is more con- 

 venient than No. 1. 



No. 4 is a thin short knife, to slice up combs, 

 and to cut it and fit in frames when transferring. 



The edge on honey knives should not be smooth, 

 but rather gritty, such as a good scythe stone 

 will make. 



With the above knives I find myself sufliciently 

 armed and equipped for all emergencies. 



Henry Crist. 



Lake P. C, Stark Co., Ohio, 

 March 35, 1870. 



