302 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1922 



be inconclusive. The man in the apiary has 

 a big advantage over the laboratory ob- 

 server as far as gross symptoms are con- 

 cerned, in that the former has entire colo- 

 nies in which to make observations while 

 the laboratory worker generally has but a 

 few square inches of comb to study, often 

 not in the best of condition. This necessity 

 for making a minute search for details in 



the laboratory, such as described above, has 

 strongly emphasized the benefit to be de- 

 rived from a careful study of all the symp- 

 toms present. One should not jump at ill- 

 advised conclusions from insufficient obser- 

 vations but should carefully weigh all points 

 before making a decision. It will be found 

 til at this will save both time and money. 

 Washington, D. C. 



IN and around 

 Medina 



EQUIPMENT 



Arrangement of Apparatus and Meth- 

 ods for Speed in Uncapping, Extracting, 

 Straining and Disposal of Cappings 



By H. H. Root 



^, THE EXTRACTING 



we 



have about 

 1700 colonies 

 of bees scat- 

 tered along good 

 roads, the api- 

 aries averaging 

 75 colonies each. 

 Some of the 



yards are run for queens, and some for bees, 

 but more and more we are running for ex- 

 tracted honey. This locality is not at all 

 adapted for the production of comb honey; 

 in fact, Medina County has never been con- 

 sidered a good locality for honey of any 

 kind. Last year we had between 14,000 

 and 15,000 frames of foundation drawn out. 

 We extracted a carload of honey, and saved 

 for spring two or three full combs of sealed 

 honey jier colony. Next year, if the season 

 is favorable, we expect to do much better — 

 two cars, perhaps. 



I doubt whether Medina County will ever 

 produce finer honey than our 1921 crop. 

 Probably due to the extra amount of hot 

 weather all our honey was heavy, tested 

 witli tlie hydrometer, 42.5 degrees Baume, 

 and rivaling the far-famed thick honey of 

 the dry Rocky Mountain district. Extract- 

 ing, pumping and straining are all more 

 difficult when the honey is thick, but give 

 me the thick honey! 



In my last article I described some of the 

 lioney-houses of the Northwest. T now pro- 

 pose to say something about the various 

 iiarts of the equipment used for extracted 

 honey. In extracting just one carload of 

 lioney something can be learned, especially 

 when one is in touch with ideas submitted 

 and used by hundreds of good beekeepers 

 and is willing to try every idea at least 

 once. I believe I could write a small book 

 on plans of our owu and of others that we 

 have tried — plans that did not prove prac- 

 tical. Such a talc might be interesting, but 

 would not be worth very much. 

 The Extractor. 



We use an eight-frame Buckeye extractor 

 ]>ermitting the reversing of the combs under 

 full motion, once, twice or any nimiber of 

 times. This outfit litis been previously de- 

 scribed on these pages, hence no detailed de- 

 scription is necessary, aside from that given 

 ill the illustrations. Fig. 1 shows the ar- 

 rangement of the equipment that we prefer. 



In the b a c k- 

 ground are the 

 supers of full 

 combs next to 

 the uncapping 

 table. The emp- 

 ty supers are 

 stored in the 

 foreground next 

 to the door. 

 For power, we use a slow-speed one-horse- 

 power electric motor. In the course of a 

 year we receive many inquiries as to the 

 size of motor required to run an extractor. 

 A one-horsepower, if of a good reliable make, 

 capable of handling a certain overload, is 

 usually large enough, especially if the op- 

 erator is willing to give the reel a push by 

 hand as it is started. If the honey is thick 

 and it becomes necessary to elevate it 

 as much as 10 feet, I advise a larger 

 motor, as the extra cost at the start is not 

 great and the current used by a larger motor 

 running light is frequently but little greater 

 than that used by a small motor working to 

 capacity. A two-horsepower motor is ample 

 for any emergency. 



Warming the Honey. 

 Our honey was so thick last year that it 

 seemed advisable to raise the temperature 

 somewhat to facilitate the straining. We 

 did not care to get it hot; therefore follow- 

 ing a plan suggested by R. A. Bray of Big 

 Timber, Mont., as shown in these various 

 illustrations, we merely surrounded the ver- 

 tical pipe from the pump with a larger pipe, 

 making a water jacket into which. we intro- 

 duced steam. It depends upon the flow of 

 honey from the pump through this inside 

 jnpe as to the temperature secured, but on 

 the average we were able to raise the tem- 

 perature of the honey 10 degrees, which was 

 all we wanted. For shipment in 60-lb. cans 

 it is not a good plan to heat the honey to 

 150 or 160 degrees, as this delays granula- 

 tion, and granulated honey ships more safe- 

 ly than liquid honey. When packing in 

 smaller cans for local market, heating to 160 

 degrees is advisable, for the purpose of de- 

 laying granulation. The steam-jacketed 

 honey-pipe is not the best arrangement we 

 have lieard of for all purposes; but it is very 

 satisfactory for raising the temperature 

 slightly, and it is simple and easily in- 

 stalled. Of course, it is necessary to use ex- 

 treme care in making all the pipes join tight. 



