G T. E A N I N G S IN BEE CULTURE 



August, 1317 



Plain box for capping-receptacle with a screened bottom resting on galvanized tray. The uncapped 

 combs are set in the lower end until they are put into the extractor. Thoroly stirring and punching the 

 cappings hastens drainage. 



the advantage of using them for brood by 

 the plan given in Lesson No. 6. 



No honey should be drawn from the gate 

 at the bottom of the extractor until there 

 is enough to reach within two or three inches 

 of the bottom of the reel, then a pail should 

 should be set underneath and the gate swung 

 wide open. The pail will fill in a very few 

 seconds; and during this time the hand 

 should never be taken from the handle of the 

 gate. Running honey over on the floor just 

 once will forever cure any one of the habit 

 of taking the hand off the extractor-gate. 

 By waiting until there is quite a depth of 

 honey in the bottom of the extractor, the 

 ]iail fills quickly, and practically no time is 

 lost. Walking over a floor sticky with 

 hcney is not pleasant, and trying to clean it 

 up without hot water is worse still. 



The pail of honey should be poured into 

 the strainer-can, and, as mentioned in Lesson 

 No. 6, no honey should be drawn from this 

 strainer-can until it is full. In this way 

 bits of cappings and foreign material will 

 float to the surface so that there will be no 

 danger of the cheese-cloth bag clogging up. 

 The honey should be drawn off into cans no 

 faster than it is poured into the strainer. 



school of experience. It helps to have the 

 knife hot, and, therefore, a pail of water 

 practically at boiling point is a help. A 

 steam-knife is far better; but unless the 

 beginner has at least 50 colonies it would 

 hardly pay to invest in a steam-knife, 

 boiler, etc. 



IN THE EXTRACTOR. 



When putting combs into the extractor 

 care should be taken to select two that 

 weigh about the same, othei-wise the reel 

 will be unbalanced and will do an immense 

 amount ^ f s'.iaking about. If the combs are 

 new and fragile, that is, if no brood has 

 ever be:n reared in the cells to strengthen 

 them by means of the fibrous cocoons, th6 

 handle of the extractor must be turned 

 slowly at first until the bulk of the honey is 

 out of the first side, then the pockets swung 

 around and the handle turned slowly again 

 for a few revolutions. Then the reel may 

 be speeded up and all the honey extracted 

 from the second side. Finally the pockets 

 must be reversed to the first side again and 

 the rest of the honey extracted there. In 

 this way the fragile combs may be extracted 

 without breakage. Tough old brood-combs 

 do not require such careful handling, hence 



