Nov. 1. 1911 



645 



success SO that it can be put on the market. 

 Interested parties may write to Mr. Fergu- 

 son direct, or to us. In writing, please 

 state the kind of frames, whether regula- 

 tion shallow top-bars, or wide ones; wheth- 

 er Hoffman or unspaced frames. Should 

 there be a number of responses, Mr. Fergu- 

 son would have to send the machine to the 

 nearest person who could test it. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN CAPPING-MELTERS AND 

 WAX-SEPARATORS. 



We have on hand a series of three articles 

 from Mr. F. J. Severin, San Diego, Cal., 

 describing his new capping-melter and wax- 

 separator, the latter especially being such an 

 improvement over other separators that one 

 of the most extensive bee-keepers in the 

 United States, Mr. J. W. George, of Imperi- 

 al, Cal., for whom Mr. Severin has been 

 working, has decided to make nine of them, 

 one for each outyard. Mr. Severin has had 

 practical experience in the yards of some of 

 the largest producers of the West, and on 

 this account he is especially qualified to 

 know just what is required of a capping- 

 melter and wax-separator. We shall use 

 these articles in the near future, and are 

 sure our readers can not fail to be interested 

 in some of these solutions of troublesome 

 extracting-house problems. 



THE L. W. AVANT PLAN FOR SUCKING HON- 

 EY OUT OF THE COMBS WITHOUT 

 OPENING A HIVE. 



Some days ago we received a letter from 

 Dr. E. F. Phillips, of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology, Washington, referring us to an ar- 

 ticle by Mr. James Heddon, published in 

 Gleanings for August, 1875, page 97. As 

 this article describes a process for taking 

 honey out of the combs exactly the same as 

 that which has recently been made the sub- 

 ject of a patent by L. W. Avant, of Atasco- 

 sa, Texas, we are placing it before our read- 

 ers as another evidence that "there is noth- 

 ing new under the sun." Dr. Phillips said 

 he thought that, when Mr. Avant brought 

 out the process of taking honey from the 

 combs without opening the hives, he (Mr. 

 Avant) had certainly struck something new, 

 and we thought so too. But read this: 



I am very, very sorry to fell your " air castle" to 

 the ground, almost before you have got it built; but 

 I have devised something so far in advance of It 

 that I think you will tender me a vote of thanks. 

 Believing that you are anxious for the point, I will 

 proceed. First, you must build a tank (anywhere 

 In your apiary or thereabout), elevated upon posts 

 or any suitable foundation; next, you must use my 

 new artificial comb. Now, as all which I am about 

 to explain is covered by heavy letters patent, both 

 in this and other countries. I will without fear go 

 on. My combs are built by the bees upon comb 

 foundations similar to the late Samuel Wagner's, 

 only that I use two foundations for each comb in 

 the following manner: My foundations are of light 

 sheet iron (galvanized), and are placed '/ inch 

 apart, and closed all around, top, bottom, and sides, 

 so as to form a vacuum between them. Now, the 

 bees will build their " sells " outward from each of 

 these foundations. I forgot to say that I have a fine 

 hole through the foundation at the back of each 



sen." also a ^-inch hole at the back 6nd of each 

 coiiib. I also have an inch hole in the back end of 



each hive. 1 now lay "£>«.v.s"" pipes just a little way 

 under ground, all in connection with a large one 

 that runs to the top of the aforesaid tank. Each of 

 the underground inch pipes enters from the large 

 tank pipe, to the back end of each hive. You will 

 now see that all I have to do is to attach a force 

 pump to the tank end of the large "ooss " pipe, and 

 pump all the honey from all the supers at once. I 

 also have a 2-inch pipe running from my elevated 

 tank to each of our 14 grocery stores, with a faucet 

 at the grocery end of the pipe, from which they 

 draw the honey as from a barrel. The tank holds 

 about 250 barrels, and, being elevated, the faucets 

 at the grocery stores are always full. 



The above is substantially the same as my speci- 

 fications. What I claim as my invention, and de- 

 sire to secure to secure by letters patent, is: First, 

 the double-comb foundations, when used together, 

 in the manner and tor the purposes described. 



Second, the hollow or vacuum between the walls, 

 or comb foundations, in combination with the said 

 walls or their equivalent, substanlally in the man- 

 ner, and for any or all the puri>oses set forth. 



Third, the elevated tank in combination with the 

 store-keeper or his clerks, or their equivalent, for 

 any or all of the purposes set forth. 



I will here omit the succeeding claims, and give 

 your readers the 21st and last claim, which is, the 

 "firas*" pipes D, D, R, R, V, V, and the rubber pipes 

 S, S, in combination with the hives, queens, tank, 

 grocery stores, and my hired man who does the 

 pumping on the tank, substantially in the manner, 

 and for any of the purposes I have or may, or any- 

 body else, may hereinafter for all time to come set 

 forth. 



I will close by saying that 1 shall prosecute to the 

 fullest extent of the law any persons or persons who 

 make, use, ".ve/?,"or think, or cause his or their 

 neighbor or neighbors to think of using, making, 

 or " sell "-ing anybody with my invention. 



Dowagiac. Mich., July 5, 1875. James Heddon. 



This article by Mr. Heddon was evidently 

 penned as a joke, and was so considered by 

 our Mr. A. I. Root in his foootnote away 

 back in those early days. If Mr. Heddon 

 had at the time made a formal application 

 for a patent embodying the claims that he 

 provisionally drew up, and had the patent 

 allowed, he would have barred our friend 

 Avant froin covering the same idea. 



Mr. Heddon, be it known, is an all-round 

 inventor and a genius. Some fifteen or 

 twenty years ago his contributions were fre- 

 quently seen in all the bee-journals, and we 

 suppose there was no hive that provoked 

 more discussion, pro and con, than the Hed- 

 don divisible-brood-chamber hive, still used 

 by a few enthusiastic admirers of it. While 

 he has dropped out of the bee-keeping world 

 during the last few years, his early contri- 

 bution will be read with exceeding interest. 

 While he evidently regarded the idea as a 

 joke, there are many who consider Mr. 

 Avant's invention no less a joke. We may 

 say, however, that we recently heard from 

 Mr. Avant, and he appears to have the ut- 

 most confidence in the final success of his 

 invention. He has, he says, eliminated 

 some of the difficulties, and hopes ere long 

 to have his machine perfected. 



We may say further, in defense of the 

 Avant patent, that Mr. Heddon's early con- 

 ception of this same idea does not invalidate 

 Mr. Avant's claims, for the reason that Mr. 

 Heddon did not develop the idea. If we 

 understand patent law correctly, an inventor 

 must not only have prior conception of a 

 thing, but he must put it into successful 

 use in order to prevent the other fellow, who 

 later patented it, from enjoying the legal 

 protection afforded by I'ncle Sam. 



