6 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



favorite White Clover under such circum- 

 stances had a decidedly green taste, and, 

 unless evaporated by setting the jars in 

 an oven until the honey attained the de- 

 sired consistency, would most assuredly 

 encourage a preference for old-fashioned 

 comb honey. 



Honey when extracted from sealed 

 combs, or at a time when the bees jnst be- 

 gin to seal it, we think, however, is in no 

 respect different from, or inferior to comb 

 honey, and we think most people will, af- 

 ter a time decide that wax is not particu- 

 larl}^ desirable as an article of food. 



Instructions for the use of the extractor 

 we think are hardly needed now, for 

 "Young America " very soon finds a way 

 to get out the honey after he once gets an 

 idea of the modus operandi. 



Uncapping the combs, it is true, once 

 seemed a formidable task, but just hand 

 your honey knife (it must be very thin, 

 very sharp, and of the finest steel), to 

 some one of our liright, keen, go-ahead 

 feminine friends, tell hei* what is to be 

 done and after a little practice her knife 

 will glide under the caps and roll them off 

 in a sheet (no hot water is needed) at a 

 rate that will convince any " lord of crea- 

 tion " that at least n part of bee culture is 

 women's work. 



Also in using the extractor, many have 

 l>een led to think the operation a laborious 

 task because their machines were heavy 

 and cumbrous, with gearing like a fanning 

 mill, and even yet we'find it hard work to 

 convince many that it is a great waste of 

 strength and time to whirl a can, honey 

 and all, at the speed necessary for the hon- 

 ey to fly out, when only the comb itself 

 needs whirling. 



It is for this reason that we so strongly 

 urge that every apiarist should have but 

 one sized frames in his apiary, and have 

 his extractor made to fit them and 7io oth- 

 ers ; for to make a frame of wire cloth 

 with the necessary supports and braces 

 largei- than the comb we use, to bo con- 

 stantly brought up to the proper speed 

 and quickly sto])ped, simply because the 

 manufacturer Avas obliged to make his 

 rnacliines large that they might fit all 

 frames, it seems to us, is very poor econ- 

 omy. 



"^riie smallest frame generally in use is 

 the (Jallup frame, eleven and one-fourth 

 inches square, and the largest is the (^uin- 



by, twelve by eighteen and one-half inches. 

 Now to revolve the jionderous frame ne- 

 cessary to receive the latter in extracting 

 combs of the former size would be a con- 

 stant waste of strength ; yet there is no 

 objection to using the large frame and 

 large extractor, for with all large frames 

 work is pushed more rapidly to compen- 

 sate for an increase of power being de- 

 manded. Also with the small extractor 

 the small frames could be handled and 

 extracted with much greater rapidity. 



An extractor made expressly for the 

 Langstroth frames may be matle veiy 

 light and work very easy, for if placed 

 longest way \\]> and down, the wire cloth 

 may come within five inches of the shaft, 

 and its length may just as well be two 

 inches less than the length of the frame, 

 for the attachment of the comb to the 

 wood is ample support. 



Now as the Langstroth frame is but ten 

 and one-eighth inches broad, we cannot 

 afford to make the extractor frame more 

 than ten inches, and nine and one-half 

 inches would be better economy for a very 

 light I'unning extractor ; but this could 

 not be used for the Gallup frame, unless 

 increased to eleven and one-half inches or 

 more. Then comes the American frame, 

 twelve by twelve inches, or old style, 

 twelve b}' sixteen inches, and perhaps we 

 might as well use a Quinby extractor for 

 all of the American frames, even at the 

 exjiense of whirling some superfluous met^ 

 als below the comb. 



Strips of folded tin seem to combine 

 more of the qualities of strength and light- 

 ness than any other material we know of 

 for making the inside framework to an 

 extractor, and a tin tube makes all the 

 shaft that can be needed. We would al- 

 ways have both top and bottom bearings 

 of tempered steel, and, to conclude, we 

 know of no better winter amusement for 

 the bee-keeper than to see how nice an ex- 

 tractor (i. e., light, strong, and easy run- 

 ning) he can make, or at least can make 

 with the assistance of his tinner, and we 

 would advise ever}' bee keeper to get on 

 friendly terms with his neighboring tin- 

 smith by all means, for they are destined, 

 it seems to us, to be our greatest allies. 



As to the '"use and benefits" of the ex- 

 ti-actor, really it seems to us that our 

 friends need no remarks on this head. We 1 

 have learned to build up colonies, rear I 



