148 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1 



immediately a much- enlarged straining sur- 

 face, the entire top of the strainer, comes 

 into play. The honey runs down the side 

 of the can, and then rushes in its impetus 

 from all sides to the center of the can, where, 

 warm from the comb, every feature, impe- 

 tus, and warmth being taken advantage of, 

 it is forced through a strainer of wire cloth 

 and a fine quality of cheese-cloth over it. 

 The scum naturally keeps to the top; finer 

 particles are drawn down; but whenever the 

 strained-honey outlet is closed it begins to 

 gravitate toward the top of the honey, and 

 finally, when the extractor is emptied, al- 

 most all of it will rest on the bottom of the 

 can between the extractor-can wall and the 

 strainer. 



The first thing in the morning, this, with 

 a fiat- ended scoop, is collected and emptied 

 through the gate. In this way I have used 

 the strainer, without further cleaning, day 

 after day, or until that extracting was fin- 

 ished and every thing thoroughly cleaned as 

 every extractor should be. I used to remove 

 the cloth each day and wash it. This I did 

 by placing the baskets and arms in a posi- 

 tion to give the most room to get down, then 

 slip on a long pair of print sleeves and re- 

 move and readjust the cloth. There is no 

 great difficulty about this, but I found it un- 

 necessary. 



It may be fairly asked, "Why not cover 

 the entire distance across the can with a 

 strainer?" By this method the straining 

 surface is not increased. Again, the scum 

 must all settle on the strainer — a very ob- 

 jectionable feature; and, next, a very im- 

 portant feature in my system, and which is 

 a new feature also, is that if, for any rea- 

 son, we have to extract honey very thick 

 through cold, etc. , artificial heat can be ap- 

 plied to the straining and unstrained honey, 

 and kept applied until it passes out through 

 the rubber hose K This can be done to the 

 degree required by putting a coal-oil or gas- 

 oline stove under that portion of the ex- 

 tractor bottom which has above it unstrained 

 honey. The metal bottom being an excel- 

 lent conductor, if needed it can heat the en- 

 tire can, and the honey be made sufficiently 

 warm for every emergency. My son Ivar 

 has attended to using or not using, raising, 

 or heating, covering the flame as required 

 as he turned the extractor. For this idea I 

 am indebted to a young man, a student of 

 mine, Arthur Feather. The honey, as will 

 be • seen in the illustration, is drawn off 

 through the pipe G, which runs from inside 

 the strainer to the outside of the can, where 

 it is connected with the pipe K, which is 

 raised when the flow is to be shut off, and 

 lowered when in use. A moment does the 

 act. 



The drawing is not quite correct. The 

 outlet from the inside of the strainer should 

 not be directly under the cone, but a little 

 to the side. We have various lengths of 

 this rubber hose, with joints, so the honey 

 can be conducted at various distances. No 

 one need watch the larger tanks, and they 

 can be shut off when about but not quite 



full, or the boy who handles the extracting- 

 combs, if a barrel is to be quite filled, watch- 

 es them at the last moment. 



Another advantage I find in the strainer 

 is that, in the old system, fine strings of 

 honey are constantly passing through the 

 air, carrying that air with it into the honey, 

 and producing a froth somewhat like the 

 white of an egg and air beaten together. 

 This scum does not form with my strainer, 

 because the honey, as seen by the lettering, 

 fiows unbroken through and out. It has 

 been argued that the froth is foreign mat- 

 ter, such as wax particles. The froth, 

 doubtless, will have this if the strainer used 

 is not perfect, and the same care must be 

 used in properly adjusting the cloth as with 

 other strainers. It is well to bring the 

 cloth right under the edge of the inverted 

 wire- cloth strainer as well as using rubber 

 bands, L, L. 



This extractor can, perhaps, be improved. 

 Several who have not used it, and therefore 

 speak simply from theory, have tried to do 

 so and failed. These features, however, 

 must be retained: 1. A strainer inside of a 

 honey-extractor; 2. Two outlets through the 

 can, one for the strained honey, the other 

 for the ejection, from day to day, of the 

 scum which accumulates; 3. A portion of 

 the unstrained honey to reach the bottom of 

 the can before straining, this to enable the 

 application of artificial heat when needed to 

 allow the main portion of the scum to settle 

 on the bottom of the extractor instead <'f 

 the strainer; and, lastly, to allow a side 

 surface as well as top surface through which 

 the honey can strain. 



In this system of straining, the honey is 

 exposed to the air for the least time, and the 

 aroma is retained if the honey is at once 

 stored in air-tight vessels, which, in this sys- 

 tem, it can be, as it is strained as it comes 

 from the extractor. In straining in the or- 

 dinary way, or by gravitation, which re- 

 quires storage-tanks, besides the added 

 work, aroma is lost in the storerooms which 

 ninety-nine out of a hundred have, and in 

 ordinary climates moisture is collected, and 

 germs of fermentation, which are always 

 floating about, settle in the honey, and may 

 be the foundation for trouble at a future 

 time. 



Brantford, Ont., Can. 



DEPREDATIONS OF ANTS OR BEE PAR- 

 ALYSIS. 



How Species of Ants will Destroy Large Col- 

 onies of Bees in Florida; a Most Valuable 

 and Interesting Account of Their 

 Depredations and How to 

 Combat Them. 



BY W. F. MCCREADY. 



I have just had an experience with bee 

 paralysis, or something of a similar nature. 

 On the 6th instant, at my out- apiary about 

 a dozen bees were noticed clinging to the 

 grass and trying to fly to their hive. Ex- 



