542 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



•luLV. 1917 



sickrable lime to let the helper do the brush- 

 ing' with a brush in each hand. 



As soon as the combs are freed from bees 

 tl:ey should be put in an empty hive body 

 and wheeled to the room where the extract- 

 ing is done. It is hard to find anything more 

 convenient than a wheelbarrow for carrying 

 heavy combs, especially where the ground 

 is rough and ureven. Even tho the bees 

 may be bringing in honey, it is well to keep 

 the box of combs covered, and, of course, 

 if tliere is a honey-dearth, the box should 

 not be left uncovered a second longer than 

 is absohitely necessary. 



The average beginner had better tier up 

 the extracting-supers until the honey-flow 

 is over, letting tlie full combs remain on the 

 hives until just before time to extract. 

 That is the easiest plan, and the plan that 

 yields the best honey, for the longer tliese 

 combs stay on the hives the richer and thick- 

 er the . honey becomes. There is nothing 

 gained by extracting before the flow is 

 over except in localities wliere another 

 source begins to yield before the first one 



A helper with a brush in ea.li hand trushing both 

 sides of a comb at once. 



is over and it is advisable to keep the 

 two kinds cf honey separate. And, the 

 first year or two the beginner may be 

 caught with too few sujDers and extraeting- 

 combs to permit tiering up till the end of 

 the flow. Then it becomes necessary to 

 extract to make room. Lesson 7 will give 

 some of tlie details of extracting. 



A practical extractinK outfit for the beginner. i'lie barrel with both heads knocked out and a 

 coarse screen nailed to the bottom makes a very good uncappingcan when supported over a tub. 

 A leaky barrel is all the better. Instead of a screen a large number of holes may be bored in the bottom 

 and sides ; then when one barrel is full it may be replaced by another. A large cheesecloth bag with 

 a barrel-hoop nailed to the mouth, and supported in a can, makes an efficient strainer that fills all re- 

 quirements. The honey is not supposed to be di'awn off until the straining-can is full. Bits of cappings 

 and other impurities will thus float to the surface instead of gathering in the cloth and filling it up. 

 Of course a good tight barrel will answer just as well as a metal can, provided it has a faucet or gate 

 at the bottom. 



