218 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Apr. 1 



torn, and these cappings pitched into it, the 

 barrel meanwhile being suspended over a 

 washtub to catch any further drainage, of 

 which there will be considerable. For 

 handling cappings, nothing that we have 

 ever tried equals a "D" handle six-tined 

 fork. 



There is one quite serious defect in the 

 Mclntyre uncapping-box. The honey that 

 drains out of it after the first 48 hours from 

 the time the cappings are sliced from the 

 combs comes so very slowly that it is stale 

 and unfit for table use. This, with what we 

 take from the cappings that go into the 

 capping-melter later, amounts to 2^ per 

 cent of the crop extracted, and this amount 

 has to be sold at about two-thirds price (this 

 applies to the better grade of white honey; 

 with low grades, there is not so much differ- 

 ence) . 



After all the honey is drained out we 

 transfer them at our leisure, after the sea- 

 son's work is over, to a large capping-melt- 

 er made along the lines shown on page 555, 

 Sept. 1, 1910, and also shown in the accom- 

 panying drawing. After the wax congeals, 

 the honey is drained and canned, and it 

 then generally goes for the baker trade. We 

 have never found a melter that has handled 

 this work as well as this one; and, although 

 we have never tried it for handling cappings 

 direct from the knife, we expect to next 

 summer. At that time, if it works as well, 

 and I see no reason why it won't, we will 

 discard the Mclntyre uncapping-box entire- 

 ly. The melters that we have tried before 

 have been little affairs, not adapted for our 

 extensive runs, and we had about decided 

 there was nothing quite as good as the Mc- 

 lntyre box until we tried this new melter. 



FOUR-FRAME NON-REVBRSIBLE EXTRACTOR. 



The extractor shown in the engraving be- 

 fore referred to is of the new four-frame non- 

 reversible type. Its features of merit are 

 portability (the weight being only 80 lbs.) 

 and durability. It is built on the same 

 principle as the old Novice that was noted 

 for its long life; but, having twice as many 

 baskets, the capacity is, of course, greater 

 than the two-frame Novice, and there is no 

 reason why it should not last fully as long. 

 A disadvantage is that the combs have to 

 be lifted out by hand and reversed, and this 

 takes some more time, but not so much as 

 one would think at first thought; and the 

 extra time is almost offset by the ease and 

 rapidity with which the reel may be turned. 

 The baskets being near the center, the 

 crank starts more easily and turns with less 

 effort, so that time is gained, as it does not 

 take as long to free the coeqIds of honey as 

 with the four-frame automatic. 



There is another serious disadvantage tbat 

 this extractor has — the centrifugal force 

 drives the combs into the wire so hard that 

 combs that have not been used for brood- 

 rearing are often broken when removed 

 from the baskets for reversing. 



While we shall probably continue to buy 

 the four-frame automatic extractors for gen- 

 eral use, this little portable machine will fill 



a long-felt want for outyard work where not 

 too much extracting is to be done. 

 Remus, Mich. 



[We note what our correspondent says in 

 regard to the last honey that drains from 

 the cappings being stale and unfit for table 

 use, and we wish to mention what we call 

 "drip honey" that drains from the cut 

 pieces of comb honey that we prepare for 

 the individual-service trade. This honey 

 drains away very slowly indeed; and, being 

 exposed all the while to filtered air, free 

 from dust, it becomes very thick and almost 

 waxy. It is true that the new "aroma" 

 has been lost; but among actual consumers 

 we have found that there are few who know 

 any thing about aroma, and they all pro- 

 nounce this drip honey the very finest that 

 they have ever tasted; and if we had ten 

 times as much of it, it would probably be 

 eagerly taken and more yet asked for. 



Honey next the cappings is always sup- 

 posed to be the very best. If special pains 

 were taken to strain it so that it would be 

 clear, we believe the same price could be se- 

 cured as for the rest of the honey, and pos- 

 sibly a little better price, if such were asked. 



We presume that the reason why the 

 combs are more mutilated in the small ex- 

 tractors is that the baskets, being so close 

 to the center, offer little resistance, and high 

 speed is easily attained. The centrifugal 

 force is greater when the baskets are located 

 further from the center; but with this latter 

 construction it is not usually possible to 

 whirl them at so great a speed, hence the 

 centrifugal force in most cases is not quite 

 as great. Theoretically, then, a machine 

 with a reel of small diameter turned at 

 something less than the maximum speed 

 should have plenty of centrifugal force. — 

 Ed.] 



* ■ ^ ■ » 



NON-SWARMERS ALREADY POSSIBLE, 



BY I. F. MUNDAY. 



In Gleanings for November 15, page 736, 

 Mr. Raleigh Thompson says, "he (man) 

 will never produce a non-swarming race." 

 I desire to assure him that 95 per cent of my 

 colonies have not swarmed, nor have been 

 disposed to do so, for quite twelve years. 

 The hives have been occupied by bees con- 

 stantly. Of course, no queen has lived for 

 20 years; but the queens have remained in 

 the hives till they died, and others of the 

 same kind have either been reared in them 

 or have been introduced. Many of the 

 combs are of a greater age than 12 years, 

 yet no swarms have issued from these hives 

 either in good, bad, or indifferent seasons; 

 nor do I think they are likely to do so while 

 managed judiciously with the object of ob- 

 taining honey for extracting. The little in- 

 crease I require I obtain by means of nuclei 

 transferred to full-sized hives and strength- 

 ened from sealed brood taken from two or 

 three strong colonies. I keep from 80 to 100 

 hives in my apiary. 



