DECEMBER 15, 1916 



1165 



EXTRACTING CONVENIENCES. 



A tank some 6 feet deep and 3 wide is 

 used as a storage-tank. Two inches below 

 the top there is an overflow pipe which re- 

 turns the honej' to the extractor when the 

 tank is full. The tank holds about 3000 lbs. 



The honey which drains from the cap- 

 pings is carried by gravity into the extract- 

 or, entering the can just below the level of 

 the baskets to prevent a back flow of honey 

 from the extractor. The uncapper stands 

 close to the extractor. A central extracting 

 station is used, to which all the honey is 

 hauled and extracted. 



To be able to strain honey rapidly, a very 

 unique plan has been adopted ; and that is 

 to run a quarter-inch steam pipe in the cen- 

 ter of the eight-foot pipe thru which the 

 honey is pumped from the extractor to the 

 tank. Mr. Bainard said that this pipe 

 should not be too iiot, and that the flow of 

 steam, therefore, must be regulated. The 

 upright pipe should really contain only con- 

 densed steam. He thinks that a better way 

 would be to have the heat outside of the 

 honey-pipe. 



A HONEY-STRAINER. 



Another beekeeper, John W. Campbell, 

 who lives next door to Mr. Bainard, but who 

 has his bees nine miles from there, gave me 

 some interesting infoimation. Mr. Camp- 

 bell uses a new strainer material which Mr. 

 Bainard has also adopted, as it is far supe- 

 rior to cotton cheese-cloth. Linen cheese- 

 cloth is used. It is stronger than cotton, 

 and the threads are less fuzzy, so that the 

 material acts more like fine wire cloth. This 

 strainer is laid on a 5/16-in.-mesh wire cloth 

 which is fastened to a hoop that catches on 

 the top of the storage-can. The cloth is re- 

 moved frequently — 'at noon and before 

 starting extracting in the morning — and put 

 into a pail of cold water. After the honey 

 dissolves it is rinsed and shaken out. Per- 

 haps some of the readers of Gleanings do 

 not realize why a honey-strainer should be 

 washed in cold water. It is to prevent the 



wax from melting and sticking to the 

 threads. 



A LEVER FOR PUTTING ON COVERS. 



Mr. Campbell told me of a way to put 

 friction-top (" slip top " or " penny lever") 

 covers on honey-tins, which is away ahead 

 of my own way, and I have put on many 

 thousands during the last ten years. He 

 simply hinges a lever to something solid 

 with a round piece of wood on the under 

 side of the lever that will fit inside of the 

 cover to be put on. He regulates' the height 

 for each tin by using varying thicknesses of 

 blocks under the tin. The covers are press- 

 ed into place by pressure of the lever. Very 

 rapid work can be done in this way. 



Mr. Bainard told me that the late Wm. 

 Elliott, of Adelaide village, near Lambeth, 

 had a device used in connection with putting 

 wet combs back on the hives after extract- 

 ing. It consisted of a solid bee-escape 

 board with an additional opening covered by 

 a slide, thus controlling the communication 

 between the brood-chamber and the supers 

 containing the wet combs above. The slide 

 could be manipulated from outside of the 

 hive. The bee-escape in the board also had 

 a shield above it to prevent dead bees and 

 wax from falling into the bee-escape, and 

 perhaps clogging it. It seems that Mr. Elli- 

 ott used these boards on top of all hives 

 upon which wet combs were to be placed, 

 and left the means of communication closed 

 until night or until after all the supers had 

 been located. This prevented the very un- 

 desirable excitement and tendency to rob 

 which is well known to be the result of the 

 bees having access to the wet combs. 



For the edification of the inexperienced 

 I wish to say that it is a comparatively easy 

 matter to remove combs of honey from the 

 hive by means of bee-escapes, and to ex- 

 tract the honey in a bee-tight house; but 

 tlie excitement is sui'e to begin as soon as 

 the wet combs are put back upon the hives. 

 The bees appear to sound an alarm which 

 sets every field bee on the hunt. 



Brantford, Ont., Canada. 



OPENING UP THE FRONT OF THE HIVE DURING HOT WEATHER 



BY WALTER J. BAILEY 



Every experienced beekeeper who keeps 

 bees for jjrofit and not pleasure is aware 

 tliat, in order to secure the largest amount 

 of honey, he must cut swarming short if he 

 possibly can. When operating for extract- 

 ed honey we can control tlie swarming much 

 better than when running for section honey. 



When I first became a beekeeper 1 had 

 trouble with the swarming problem. My 

 bees would get a nice start in the supers, 

 and, about the time the supers were two- 

 thirds full, the bees woukl swarm, and there 

 I was with a partly filled sui)er. Of course 

 1 gave such supers to other colonies to com- 



