118 



GLEANINGS IN UEE CULTURE. 



July 



the loving- Father for such a jjurpose? But water, 

 for our.soh-cs, is all we want; and what a blessing it 

 is I H )W I long to teach au'J help others, that they 

 may be blessod as we are, in beinj? able to do our 

 own doctoring. We want no medicine— only healthy 

 living, etc. Mus. H.whurst. 



Kansas City, Mo.. .lune 1,S, 18>1. 



Thank you, my friend, for your timely as- 

 sistance. " I believj^ cold water freely applied 

 wonld d"> very much t^odd in all snch caRes. 

 uiul that luuiy of tliose alai-miiig- syrnv)toins 

 would suh.side very vmh). even if no applica- 

 tion were made at ail. Only last week I was 

 stung in my nose hy an irate bee. The posi- 

 tion was such, that" it v.-as quite a dlfticult 

 matter to extricate tiie stiiiu:; and wlien I 

 did get it out, the contents of the poison-hag- 

 liad ])een pretty effect ually squeezed out into 

 my tlesh. The sting was so severe that it 

 made the tears come in my eyes, and for a 

 brief interval I experienced a little ditficnlty 

 in Itreathing; but I did not get frightened, 

 for I knew it would soon sul)side, whicli it 

 did of itself. Shovdd a sting occur so as to 

 obstruct my breathing I should try to hold 

 tlie passage open by mechanical means, un- 

 til the swelling snl)sided. Free applications 

 of cold water would be of great assistance in 

 such cases. The juice of plantain, or a tea 

 made of plantain-leaves, has been several 

 times suggested. Is it really true, that it is 

 a-;;pecilic against poisonous stings and bites? 



FKIEND W. S. HARTS UIVCAPPING- 

 BOWL. 



A SUBSTITUTK FOR THU 



Ai'Pi:><;-CA\. 



now upon 

 in nncap- 



"Ky S the season for extracting horn 

 '^K^ us, I will give you my plan 



1^ piug can, or bowl. 

 "^^"^ A A is a common large wooden bowl, to be 

 iiad at any grocery; B B, an inch board, one 

 foot square, to which the bowl is securely fastened 

 with screws. C is a wooden plug with a -^-inch hole 

 bored lengthwise through its center, said plug be- 

 ing driven tightly into a 214-inch hole bored through 

 the bottom of the bowl, and the inch boai-d on which 

 it sits. D is a grate, made of light sticks cut out 

 while rabbeting hives. G is a 'ex^-inch strip laid 

 across top of bowl, with cleats on under side to keep 

 it in place. A washer is seen just a little above G. 

 F is a strip 13x'»x3, with a 1x2 hole cut in each end, 

 H H, and hung at the middle by a screw running 

 through the washer. 



-6 Y^ 



B0WL?JX6'/« INCHLS »// 



INSIDE .y 



I bore a hole through my extracting-tatlle, and 

 put the hollow plug down through it, which allows 

 the bowl to sit close by my extractor. Taking a 

 frame of honey, I set it on end on the strip F, with 

 the projection of top-bar in hole H; uncap one side, 

 turn frame on F, which turns M'ith it. The cappings 



fall on D, and the honey runs through, and down 

 through spout C into a pail that sits below. 



The advantages of the above are cheapness; ma- 

 terials can be got anywhere, and almost any one 

 can put them together; ease in turning, comb-cap- 

 pings out of the way, and draining as fast as cut, 

 and nothing about the whole affair to rust, jam, or 

 get-out of repair. 



If any bee-keepers care to use this device, I shall 

 be glad to have them do so. The bowl is lightly 

 waxed with beeswax inside, and painted outside. 

 This prevents both cracking, and soaking honey. 

 W. S. Haf^t. 



New Smyrna, Florida, June 11, 18S4. 



Friend II., your arrangement Jias one de- 

 cided advantage ; that is, it swings on a 

 pivot, so as to present the comb to the cap- 

 per in any position ; at the same time, the 

 honey goes safely out of the Avay, and can 

 easily be kept secure from flies and other in- 

 sects. No doubt the idea will be of consid- 

 erable ad^'antage to many of the brethren. 



RIPENING HONEY BY ARTIFICIAL 



MEANS. 



AXOTHKl! MACHINE EOK THE PURPOSE. 



E take the following from the ^Imen- 

 cau AyrkuUurist for July. It is from 

 our friend W. Z. Hutchinson: 



KiPENiNG Honey.— When first gathered, 

 honey is generally quite thin and watery, 

 so that it can readily be shaken from the combs; 

 but the heat of the hive, aided by the manipulations 

 of the bees, soon reduces it to the proper consis- 

 tency, when the bees seal it over. It has been 

 asseited, that larger quantities of honey can be ob- 

 tained, if it is extracted when first gathered, but, 

 when taken in this "green" condition, it must be 

 ripened by artificial means. Otherwise it ferments. 

 It will rarely do so, if nearly ready to seal when ex- 

 tracted; and if allowed to stand in open vessels, 

 the excess of moisture will in time evaporate. Mr. 

 Pettit, a Canadian, has the following method of 

 ripening honey. During a bountiful yield, he ex- 

 tracts as often as once 

 in three days ; and when 

 a bai-rel is full of honey, 

 it is raised, by means of 

 ropes and pulleys, to 

 the upper part of the 

 honey -rooiu. The fau- 

 cet to the barrel is 

 slightly opened, and a 

 small stream of honey 

 allowed to trickle upon 

 the upper edge of a 

 sheet of tin, the honey 

 drips upon the upper edge of another sheet, placed 

 under the first, but inclined in the opposite direc- 

 tion. From the lower edge of the second sheet, the 

 honey drips upon the upper edge of a third sheet, 

 from the third to the fourth, and in this manner it 

 continues to flow from sheet to sheet, until it passes 

 over about thirty sheets, when it I'uns into a large 

 vat. To prevent the honey from running off at the 

 sides of the sheets, their edges are slightly turned 

 ! up. Mr. Pettit has never found it necessary to run 

 I the honey through the evaporator more than once. 

 I Thei-e is some difference of opinion, however, as 

 ' to whether honey thus artificially ripened has the 



