GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1920 



combs, or, if there is any considerable 

 amount of honey in the cells, tear the combs 

 out of the frames altogether. 



The great value of the new construction 

 for an extracted-honey producer is that, 

 when the conditions are right — that is, when 

 the combs are not too new — it is possible 

 and entirely practicable to reverse at full 

 speed at a mere touch of the lever with less 

 breakage of combs. Continuous automatic 

 reversing, keeping the combs reversing all 

 the time, is a serious mistake, as any one 

 will find who tries. Intermittent reversing 

 at the will of the operator, as we do it, is 

 a success. 



To reduce the danger on new fragile 

 combs, why not reduce the proportionate 

 speed of the reversing mechanism? In oth- 

 er words, why not reverse slower, even tho 

 it takes a longer time? Simply because, if 

 the reversing is done at too slow a speed, 

 while tlie combs are in a position with the 

 top-bars pointing toward the center of the 

 extractor, the centrifugal force will pull the 

 combs loose from the top-bar nearly every 

 time. If the combs are built clear down to 

 the bottom-bar this danger is lessened, but 

 too many combs are not so filled out. The 

 reversing must be done almost instantly. 

 Will the New Construction Supplant the Old? 



It is difficult to make any prophecy. We 



do not believe the new principle will entire- 

 ly take the place of the old. It will doubt- 

 less be used by the large producers where 

 the saving of combs and time is everything, 

 and who will do the extracting themselves. 

 The new construction, however, requires a 

 slightly larger can. The mechanism is much 

 heavier and more expensive. The old style 

 of construction permits reversing more than 

 once; but, of course, the reel has to be 

 slowed down for the first reversing, and 

 has to be stopped for the second reversing. 

 This takes time. The whole matter, there- 

 fore, resolves itself into a question of the 

 value of time, the saving in the combs, and 

 the relative costs of the two machines. With 

 the purchasing power of the dollar decreas- 

 ing and the cost of time increasing, saving 

 minutes and combs is an important con- 

 sideration. The new machine will, undoubt- 

 edly, save both time and combs in the hands 

 of an intelligent and careful man. Where 

 help is incompetent or careless, the old prin- 

 ciple would be as good or better, and some- 

 what cheaper in first cost. This is only an- 

 other way of saying that the new extractor 

 is not fool-proof in respect to comb break- 

 age, but is a markedly better machine when 

 rightly used than any hitherto made. 





A 



Fier. 3. — Tliis shows the internal mechanism of the perfected Buckeye central-axis reiversible extractor. The 

 reversing is accomplished by a pull on the lower brake-lever which in combination with the chain and sprock- 

 ets causes the pockets to revolve on the central pivots half a turn, when they are automatically locked, and 

 another pressure on the lever will cause the pockets to revolve/ another half-turn. Continuous pressure on 

 the lever would keep the pocket reversing: continuously. This wo believe to be a mistake. Each of the 

 pockets is removable, as shown in the backsroaind. The top hand lever controls the Irake tliat stops or 

 slows down the reel after the combs arei emptied. The steel band around the top will probably be replaced 



by rollers. 



