684 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



has been subjected to public test, and has shown, 

 first, that the honey is thrown out clean on both 

 sides of the comb; second, that the combs, when 

 laid in properly, are not injured; and, third, that 

 rapid work can be done with it. 



The construction of the extractor is solid through- 

 out. A kit, or tub, of the best kind is used, made 

 of hard wood, painted, and the hoops galvanized. 

 The directions for use are as follows: 



Scald out and rinse, before using. The machine 

 works best when placed on a table. To enable the 

 honey to run better, the side opposite the faucet 

 should be elevated a little. The tension of the belt 

 is regulated by a thumb-screw on the under side of 

 the slot cut in the board through which the shaft 

 runs. The combs are then laid in, and secured ac- 

 cording to their length and width, and hold securely 

 in place by the wire eovei-ing. 



We illustrate the first machine, more be- 

 cause it represents an idea than because we 

 think it will be any thing that will come into 

 practical use. We believe that iinc;ipping 

 can be done in the manner described ; but 

 after taking into account all the machinery, 

 we seriously doubt whether more uncapping 

 could be done with it than with a keen-edged, 

 properly warmed uncap])ing-knife. In talk- 

 ing with an extensive honey-producer, one 

 who owns 500 colonies in California, he 

 remarked he wanted no better machine than 

 a Bingham uncapping-knife. The second 

 machine we illustrate, because it contains a 

 principle which it may be worth while for us 

 Americans to develop. The idea is rather 

 novel, at least. You will observe that the 

 combs are put in the pockets in a horizontal 

 position, and in that position the honey is 

 whirled out from both sides simultaneously. 

 At first thought you would say that this is 

 almost impossible. But if you reflect a mo- 

 ment you will see the principle. The cen- 

 trifugal force, as the combs revolve in a 

 horizontal position, throws the honey to that 

 side of the cell nearest to the sides of the tub, 

 at the same time flinging away the honey 

 from that side of the cell nearest to the 

 center of revolution. Tlie honey is thus 

 forced up the perpendicular side of the cell. 

 When it reaches the top edge, it flies off, 

 striking the side of the tub. To make the 

 jirinciple clear, we will suppose that a child 

 grasps an ordinarv pint cup, filled with water, 

 by tlie handle. He now whirls on his heel, 

 at the same time holding the cup in a per- 

 pendicular position, the cup rotating in a 

 horizontal line. Of course, the water will 

 rush to the outer edge of the cup, and spill 

 out. If the child could turn rapidly enough 

 on his heel, the water would be all thrown 

 out. It will be noticed that, in order to 

 tlirow^ the honey out of the coml)sinthis 

 way, they must be revolved much more 

 rapidly than in the ordinary extractor. To 

 prove that honey could be thrown out in this 

 way, we took some sections of thickly cap- 

 ped honey, uncapped them, and placed theui 

 down in the basket of the extractor horizon- 

 tally. The honey was thrown out at both 

 sides at once as clean as could be done with 

 an ordinaiv extractor. But we noticed that 

 it required a much higher motion. Perhaps 

 it should be remarked right here, that the 

 bottom of the combs (as in the hive) should 



be placed nearest the center of revolution. 

 Most combs have a little dip to the cells. Of 

 course, to have honey thrown out clean, the 

 incline should be toward the edges of tlie 

 tuV) ; or, in other words, the bottom of the 

 cell should be nearer the center of revolution 

 than the top is. We do not know that the 

 principle of this extractor will ever come into 

 practical use. The higher centrifugal force 

 required may make it impractical; but if the 

 honey can be thrown out from both sides at 

 once, it is a big thing in its favor. 



Since the foregoing was written, the 

 British Bee Journal of August 16 has come to 

 hand. Mr. Cowan, in that issue, illustrates 

 and comments on that same extractor. As 

 early as 1.S74 he says he exhibited in the 

 Crystal Palace a machine similarly construct- 

 ed ; but, if we understand him correctly, 

 there was this difference: His combs re- 

 volved vertically, with the frames at right 

 angles to the spindle, while the frames in 

 the extractor invented by Mr. Buhue-Lau- 

 ban, as illustrated, revolve horizontally. 

 In speaking of the success of the old ex- 

 tractor, Mr. Cowan says, "It worked ad- 

 mirably, and both sides were extracted at 

 the same time."' He adds, also, that it was 

 " only safe to extract from old combs," as, 

 with the new ones, if the machine were re- 

 volved at too high speed, tliere was danger 

 of smashing them. For this reason he did 

 not at that time think it wise to I'ecommend 

 it, although he had used it for several years 

 in his own apiary. But with wired frames 

 (more recently introduced) he thinks tliere 

 would be no danger of damaging the combs. 

 He regards it as a great saving of time to be 

 able to extract both sides without having to 

 reverse. We hope to give the principle a 

 more thorough test ourselves. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



MODERN BEE CtlLTURE VS. ITALIANS. 



aN page 613 you say, in reply to Mrs. Axtell, 

 concerning keeping moth from comb honey, 

 that the reason of the disappearance of the 

 moth of late years is due to the introduction 

 of the Italian bee. Now, friend Root, I shall 

 tell you some of my experience right on that line. 

 I have kept bees here in Missouri U years. I be- 

 gan with the old box hive. All our bees here then 

 were the big brown German, and I still have noth- 

 ing else. All we did in the way of bee-keeping in 

 those days was to stop the plow when we learned 

 the bees were swarming, and run to the house, and 

 hive them in an old box hive. In a few weeks, if 

 we happened to think of it, we would put on a cap 

 for surplus. About the time we supposed that the 

 harvest was over for the season, we went around 

 and took off the caps and got what was in them. 

 Then we let them rest in the weeds until swarming 

 time next year. Result, first, we got little honey; 

 second, hives often became qucenless, and then 

 the moth went for them. Each qucenless hive, left 

 all the fall to the tender care of the moth, soon be- 

 came populous with fat worms, which, left alone, 

 soon were on the wing, seeking more queenless 



