460 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIE'W 



GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE 



Uncle Dudley's Ideas on Extracting 



By UNCLE DUDLEY, Michigan. 

 ■ ■ jl N 1880 I had my first experience with the extractor. It was one 

 \M of the first make and the can revolved, which made it a heavy, 

 cumbersome machine. I later bought a Novice two-frame ma- 

 chine, and followed this with a Stanley reversible. The one now used 

 is a Cowan reversible. Each one is an improvement over the other. The 

 next will be a power machine, and when I get it the coming season I 

 think I shall have been nearly through the mill. In the meantime I have 

 had all sorts of experiences, both summer and winter, with thick and 

 thin honey, hot and cold knives, etc. 



Choose a Simple Outfit. 

 An extracting outfit should be simple, but don't use a hive shal- 

 lower than tlie I.angstroth ten-frame for the brood nest. The best frames 

 for extracting are made one inch wide all around. No projections should 

 be allowed, for they are a nuisance and are always in the way of the 

 knife and will cause the combs to become broken and uneven. I would 

 not use a super deeper than the shallow extracting frames. The full 

 depth extracting supers I do not like. Have two wires running length- 

 wise and full sheets of medium or heavy foundation. I have no doubt 

 some will say, "I use light foundation in my extracting frames." It 

 seems to me too slow. I prefer the shallow super and frames. I can 

 handle two to one against the deeper frames. Shallow frames will not 

 melt down in an excessive hot season. I can get nice, straight, fat combs, 

 and one stroke of the knife uncaps one side. You can free a shallow 

 super of nearly all bees with the smoker or by a sudden jerk or jam, 

 and it will not hurt the combs, while with the deeper frame you must 

 handle one frame at a time and brush the bees ofif, for the super is too 

 heavy to handle easily. 



Fastening the Extractor. 

 If the extractor is not solid get a pair of buck-saw tighteners and 

 bend one end to hook on the handle of the extractor and set the ex- 

 tractor on a solid box the desired height. Then hang the tightener 

 on the handle and measure to the floor from the lower end, and have 

 your blacksmith weld a ^-inch lag screw on a rod with a bent end 

 to hook in the tightener, and screw it in the floor. This will make a 

 very serviceable tightener. 



