JVLV. 19J1. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U L T IF R E 



413 



to have two or three supers of combs on 

 eaeh hive. We June a theory that bees 

 v.liieh sit outside the hive day after day 

 tend to become demoralized and lose their 

 colony instinct. A great many of these 

 combs will have to be run thru the extractor 

 after the tinal taking off, and without much 

 reward, but we think it pays. Then there 

 are the unexpected late runs of honey, usu- 

 ally of inferior quality, which would be 

 crowded into the brood-chamber or lost 

 without the sui'plus sjiace they ])rovide. 



Conveniences for the Extracting Room. 



The extracting-room has an eight-frame 

 extractor, a capping meltcr heated by steam, 

 and some long straight steam-heated uncap- 

 ])ing knives. The honey is pumped from 

 the extractor to the store tanks and not 

 strained. After standing for three or more 

 days these tanks are skimmed thoroly and 

 are ready for tilling into the selling pack- 

 ages wiiich are ten-pound and five-pound 

 pails. The capping melter is made on the 

 principle of the Peterson, but uses steam in- 

 stead of hot water. First, I made a box 11 

 inches deep, 18 inches wide, and four feet 

 long, and had it lined with galvanized iron, 

 leaving one end open as in the case of the 

 Peterson melter. Then we took pine strips 

 5/16 inch thick by % inch wide and nailed 

 them crosswise on the bottom so as to send 

 the steam back and forth as it advances 

 from one end of the melter to the other. 

 On this a heavy sheet of galvanized iron 

 was fastened and soldered at the sides to 

 form the hot surface for melting the cap- 

 pings. This leaves a space of only 5/16 

 inch deep for steam between the two sheets 

 of metal, and the wood underneath heljjs 

 j)revent escape of lieat downward where it 

 would be wasted. The hottest steam enters 

 the steam chamber directly under the outlet 

 where wax and honey How out, and the ex- 

 haust comes from the upper end and is con- 

 ducted by a piece of hose into a pail of 

 water where it condenses. Hot water from 

 the steam which condenses in the steam 

 chamber also flows out here. This pail of 

 water serves the double purpose of keeping 

 the room free from steam and providing hot 



water for washing hands, etc. It sits over 

 the drain in the cement floor so a spill does 

 no harm. Two pipes coming up, one on 

 each side of the capping melter, take steam 

 from the main to supply the uncapping- 

 knives before it enters the steam chamber. 

 Half-inch steam pipes are used thruout. Cut- 

 off valves properly placed give complete con- 

 trol of the steam, so it may be thrown more 

 or less into the melter as desired. The 

 source of steam is a New Perfection oil 

 water-heater with a ten-gallon boiler. 

 Steam or hot water may be had from this 

 at will. When steam is wanted the water 

 inlet is closed, and when water is wanted the 

 pressure is turned on again. Thus we can 

 have steam all day for extracting, then 

 turn in the water, attach a hose to the hot- 

 water tap which stands beside the cold- 

 water tap over the sink in the extracting- 

 room, and wash down the floor. After that 

 the men can go to the bathroom opening off 

 the carpenter shop upstairs and have hot 

 water from the same source for a good 

 clean-up under the shower. 



Uncapping and Extracting. 

 The steam knives, with straight han- 

 dles and long enough to reach easily across 

 the comb and still leave the hand back of 

 the bottom-bar, I consider a very important 

 part of the outfit. They must have sufficient 

 head of steam to keep a jet coming from 

 the little hole at the end during the whole 

 time a sheet of capping is being cut off. 

 With combs well bulged one whole side is 

 uncapped at one stroke, and the straight 

 handle is much easier on the wrist than the 

 regular knife, with what I call that sense- 

 less crook so tiresome to the wrist. The top 

 and bottom bars act as guides for the knife, 

 and everything goes. After once or twice 

 uncapping with a knife of this kind the 

 combs become as even on both surfaces as 

 so many boards. We do not care how much 

 honey goes with the bulging cappings to the 

 melter. It is not injured, and it keeps the 

 wax floating freely off the hot surface. As 

 it comes from the wax separator it is 

 strained into the extractor, and its heat fa- 

 ( Continued on page 425.) 



Thp ':T".\aicl^ Pettit Apiarit 



J.i-lil,^ 



-ix colonies in single colony winter cases. These aVe not je^t unpacked 

 for summer. •• > ■• ■ 



