1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1061 



lows: The Chicago Northwestern at Chica- 

 go, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1; Southwestern Ohio 

 and Hamilton Co. Bee-keepers' Association 

 at Cincinnati, Dec. 2; the Minnesota bee- 

 keepers' convention at Minneapolis, Dec. 7, 8. 



A KINETOSCOPE MOVING PICTURE OF A SWARM 

 OF BEES. 



We have just purchased a new moving- 

 picture outfit of the very latest pattern — the 

 best that can be obtained. With this I ex- 

 pect to project not only some new lantern- 

 slides but a moving picture of a swarm of 

 bees at the above conventions. This latter 

 will take about 15 minutes to show. Bees 

 are seen pouring out of the hive, flying in 

 the air, clustering on a limb of a tree, are 

 sawn off by their owner, are dumped in 

 front of the entrance, are seen running in, 

 are literally scooped up by handfuls, and 

 finally hived. There are a few other inter- 

 esting novelties in connection with this pic- 

 ture, all of which will be given at these 

 conventions. 



At some of our future meetings I may 

 show in a moving picture the process of 

 shaking or brushing bees to prevent swarm- 

 ing; the process of extracting, etc. There 

 is nothing like seeing a thing done step by 

 step to learn how. 



I had intended to be present at the Toron- 

 to convention of Canadian bee-keepers on 

 November 15th to 17th; but I find it impossi- 

 ble to get away at this time. I will endeav- 

 or to atone for this by going next year. But 

 I shall be glad to meet all of our friends at 

 any of the conventions above mentioned. 



I understand that Mr. N. E. France will 

 be present at two of the meetings, viz., at 

 Chicago and at Cincinnati. He will then go 

 on to the Harrisburg meeting, which con- 

 flicts for me with the date of the Minneapo- 

 lis meeting. But for this I would have gone 

 on to Harrisburg and given there a moving- 

 picture exhibition. 



This same outfit with the moving pictures, 

 together with some of my best slides, will 

 be shown in many of the different towns 

 and cities of the East during the coming 

 winter. We have made arrangements with a 

 prominent lecturer, the Rev. D. E. Lyon, of 

 Matawan, N. J., also a skillful bee-keeper, 

 to give his celebrated lecture before many 

 of the farmers' institutes and bee conven- 

 tions of the East. If you have a chance to 

 take in his lecture, do so. His dates will be 

 announced later. Or possibly he may be in- 

 duced to fill some dates at farmers' insti- 

 tutes. You can write him and see. 



A SIMPLE PLAN FOR RELIQUEFYING CANDIED 

 HONEY IN THE BOTTLE. 



In my report of the St. Louis convention, 

 given elsewhere in this issue, I referred to 

 the statement made by Mr. Abbott that 

 honey in bottles that has candied can be 

 very readily reliquefied by exposing them to 

 dry heat. This I regard as a very valuable 

 hint, coming just at this time. For some 

 months back we have been reliquefying our 

 bottled honey without removing the labels 

 or corks. Tihe bottles are put into a tray 



having a coil of steam-pipes under them, 

 subjecting them to a temperature of not 

 more than 105 or 110 degrees. When the 

 granulation all disappears the bottles are 

 taken out without even wiping, and are then 

 ready again for the shelves. 



"But," you say, "how about those who 

 do not have steam-pipes?" The back oven 

 to a stove, or even a regular bake oven with 

 a low fire, doors left open, will give the 

 same results; or, better, put the bottles on 

 a wire screen two or three inches above the 

 top of the stove for over night, where they 

 will get a bottom temperature but not very 

 much heat at the corks. If over night does 

 not prove to be long enough, and the stove 

 is needed for other purposes, put the bottles 

 back on again as soon as the stove can be 

 spared. 



Some of our correspondents have told of 

 putting the jars back of the stove on a ta- 

 ble or shelf, and letting them stand for per- 

 haps a week at a temperature of from 8u to 

 100 degrees. This is an excellent plan. They 

 will liquefy very slowly; but this very fact 

 will make them resist granulation much 

 longer than if they were heated to 150 or 

 160, and liquefied in an hour or so. 



It might be well to explain that, if the 

 temperature goes too high— to, say, 150 or 

 160 F., the bottle may have to be recorked. 



EXTRACTING WAX BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. 



Some months ago, Mr. T. J. Pennick, of 

 Williston, Tenn., suggested the use of cen- 

 trifugal force applied to hot slumgum taken 

 out of boiling water. In his opinion the 

 free wax, when hot, would be by this means 

 readily separated from the solid matter in a 

 very short time, and he desired us to test the 

 idea to see whether it would work. We ac- 

 cordingly constructed a cylindrical basket, 

 slightly smaller at the bottom, with a shaft 

 at each end to be inserted in a regular hon- 

 ey-extractor, one end of the bottom shaft 

 being inserted in the bottom bearing of an 

 ordinary honey-extractor, and the other end 

 geared to the regular crank of the extractor. 



Old combs were put into boiling water; 

 and as soon as they had become a sodden 

 mass they were dipped out while steaming 

 hot, put in the basket, and given a rapid 

 whirl for two or three minutes. Nearly all 

 of the free wax was thrown out against the 

 sides of the can. The slumgum was next 

 pawed over and given another whirl. The 

 effect of the centrifugal motion is to throw 

 the wax through the perforations of the cyl- 

 indrical basket, against the sides of the can; 

 and the more rapidly the crank is turned, 

 the more the slumgum will creep up on the 

 inside of the basket, for, it will be remem- 

 bered, the basket is larger at the top. 



Our experimental machine is like a small 

 honey-extractor except that the revolving 

 part is cylindrical instead of having a reel 

 holding two baskets. The bottom shaft of 

 the tapering cylinder is journaled into the 

 bearing secured just above the false bottom 

 of the can. To the top of the cyhnder is se- 

 cured a cross-arm, in the center of which is 



