THE AMERICA:^ BEE JOURNAL. 



807 



is a wrong policy to adopt ; while tlie 

 giving of a small amount of surplus 

 loom as ni'eiU'd. seems to me to be a 

 vise course to pursue. 1 now use a 

 section .")33xl>'.>x2 inches, outside 

 measure, aiid lifid that while it works 

 to the hest advantage in my hives, it 

 also sells lor fully as good a" price in 

 all of our Eastern markets as does 

 the 4'4x4,i4 or one-pound section of 

 Jionev. 

 ]3oiodino,0 N. Y. 



For the American Bee Journal 



Home-Made Honey-Extractor. 



E. A. THOMAS. 



While visiting a friend of mine in 

 ilassachusetts, I liad the opportunity 

 •of seeing and testing his new honey- 

 extractor, which, for rapidity and 

 ease of manipulation I have "never 

 seen equaled. My friend is an ex- 

 -cellent machinist, and made this ex- 

 tractor himself. While recognizing 

 the fact that the cost of the machine 

 will prevent its coming into general 

 use. I atn inclined to believe that it 

 "would be desirable for those who run 

 their apiaries for extracted honey, 

 and have considerable extracting to 

 <lo. The following is a description of 

 it, as near as I can give it : 



The can, which is made of block- 

 tin all in one piece, is 3 feet and 4 

 inches high and 23 inches in diameter; 

 there is a space of 12 inches under the 

 comb-basket, giving a storing capacity 

 of about 200 pounds. The comb- 

 basket is 18 inches deep and 14J2 

 inches square, and is attached to a 

 shaft running in a standard in the 

 ■centre of the can. The bearing is so 

 arranged that no honey can get to it, 

 and can, therefore, be kept well oiled. 

 A reversible basket can be used if the 

 operator so desires. Now I am com- 

 ing to the part wherein it differs from 

 all other extractors which I have ever 

 seen. On the lower end of the shaft 

 to which the basket is attached, is a 

 beveled gear running in a correspond- 

 ing one on a horizontal shaft extend- 

 ing from the centre under the can, to 

 the circumference. Here, again, is 

 -another set of beveled gears, carrying 

 the motion to an upright shaft run- 

 ning in boxes outside of the can. The 

 upper end of this is geared to a 6-inch 

 gear attaclied to the side of the can 

 which has a handle for turning. The 

 small gears are \14 inches in diame- 

 ter, and the shafts are ^s of an inch. 



From the above description the 

 reader will perceive that there is 

 nothing on the top of the can over the 

 comb-basket to interfere with the 

 putting in and taking out of combs, or 

 the removal of the basket for clean- 

 ing; also that the turning-wheel is 

 upright, which gives a much easier 

 and more natural movement than the 

 round and round motion of a horizon- 

 tal wheel. Perhaps the reader may 

 think this is of but little consequence, 

 but let liim turn the extractor all day, 

 as some have to do. and I think he 

 will change his mind. 



Notwithstanding the fact that the 

 extractor is geared up so much, it is 

 easier to run than any I ever saw. 



This is due in part to the well-fitting 

 bearings and the accuracy of con- 

 struction. The whole machine is 

 well and solidly built, and there is no 

 shake whatever to the comb-basket. 

 Only a slow motion of the turning- 

 wheel is required to throw out the 

 honey, and the comb-basket can be 

 revolved very rapidly, if necessary, 

 with an extra exertion on the part of 

 the operator. 



Another good thing about it is the 

 rapidity with which it can be taken 

 apart and put together. The comb- 

 basket can be taken to pieces, every 

 thing taken out, and all put together 

 again in less than a minute. 



Rural New Yorker. 



The Hunting of Bee-Trees, 



PROF. A. J. COOK. 



I am requested to give directions 

 for finding the haunts of bees in the 

 forests. I gladly do this, though un- 

 less one wishes to hunt bees for the 

 pleasure, onlv, it is a non-paying busi- 

 ness. The time spent in finding the 

 bees, the usual condition of the colony 

 with crooked combs, and little honey, 

 and the trouble to secure the bees, 

 honey, and combs in such a state that 

 they will be of value, together with 

 the fact that the owner of the tree 

 does not like to have his trees dis- 

 turbed, even though he may give his 

 consent, make this business as a busi- 

 ness anything but desirable. 



To understand bee-hunting, we have 

 only to remember that bees like 

 sweets, and are sure to find and to sip 

 them ; and that the bees, as soon as 

 full, will circle about, as if to mark 

 the locality, and then dart off straight 

 toward the tree or hive where they 

 are to store the nectar. 



In late fall after bees have ceased 

 to gather honey, we may soon attract 

 them by burning an old piece of 

 honey-comb ; at other times they 

 may be taken from the Howers. 

 To "line" bees one should have a 

 small box without a bottom, and with 

 a movable glass top. This box should 

 be six inches each way, and on one 

 side there should be a shelf within, 

 three or four inches wide on which a 

 piece of comb may be laid. With this 

 box and a bottle of water sweetened 

 vi'ith honey, or sugar, one is prepared 

 for operations. When a bee is dis- 

 covered in the woods on a flower, the 

 box is placed over it, and as soon as 

 the bee commences to sip the sweet 

 liquid which was turned into the 

 empty cells of a comb previously fas- 

 tened to the shelf in the box, the cover 

 should be removed. The bee will 

 soon fly, and must be watched care- 

 fully. After a few circles, each circle 

 bending toward its home, the bee will 

 dart oil in that direction. Soon it 

 will return with others, and as soon 

 as the line is made certain, the hlmter 

 can go a few rods to one side and find 

 another line, and of course where 

 these lines meet will be the tree. If 

 in the region of a bee keeper, one 

 must be careful or the lines will take 

 him to some one's hives, and his time 

 will be lost. If no bees are found on 



the flowers, then the bees can be at- 

 tracted to the sweets in the box by 

 burning the comb as suggested above. 



When once found, it is better to 

 climb up and cut the bees out rather 

 than to fell the tree, if this is possi- 

 ble. A little smoke and the jarring 

 will so frighten the bees that the dan- 

 ger from stings is very slight. It 

 takes some experience to line bees 

 quickly ; but old bee-hunters will find 

 bee-trees in a surprisingly short time. 



Agricultural College, j Mich. 



For the American Bee JouroaL 



ftueen-Excluding Honey-Boards. 



W. /.. HUTCHINSON, 68—94. 



Of late, quite a number of inquiries 

 have come to me asking for informa- 

 tion in regard to the Heddon skeleton 

 or slat honey-board ; and from the 

 tone of many of them, it is evident 

 that the writers regard this honey- 

 board as queen-excluding. Such is 

 not the case ; Mr. Ileddon has never 

 claimed that they are. He says that 

 they discourage, but do not prevent the 

 queen from entering the surplus de- 

 partment ; and so far as my experi- 

 ence goes, Mr. Ileddon is correct. 



Whether a queen-excluding honey- 

 board is needed, depends upon the 

 size and shape of the brood-nest, and 

 the method of management. With a 

 large brood apartment, and especially 

 one which approaches a cube in shape, 

 there is less inducement to the queen 

 to invade the surplus department 

 than with a flattened or small brood- 

 nest. The advantages of a small, 

 flat brood-nest are, that it is kept so 

 full of brood that there is little room 

 in it for honey, and the surplus de- 

 partment is brought so near the cen- 

 tre of the brood-nest that nearly all 

 the honey is stored in the surplus de- 

 partment and sold for at least twice 

 as much per pound as sugar will cost 

 to feed the bees for winter. Sugar is 

 a safer food for winter than honey ; 

 and it is hoped that these small brood- 

 nests will be free from pollen upon 

 the approach of winter. 



With an ordinary eight-frame, Lang- 

 stroth hived filled with combs, the 

 queen has so seldom left the brood- 

 nest when working for comb honey, 

 that I should not care for a queen ex- 

 cluding honey-board were it not for 

 tlie swarms. Let a swarm be hived 

 upon empty combs, and the queen 

 will not go into the sections ; but let 

 it be hived upon empty frames, and 

 let there be foundation or comb in the 

 sections, and the queen will make a 

 brood-nest of the surplus department; 

 she will also do so if the brood-frames 

 are filled with foundation, and the 

 sections with comb. In working for 

 extracted honey, the queen is quite 

 likely to take up her field of labor in 

 the surplus department. 



I am strongly in favor of having 

 the brood occupy one part of the hive, 

 and the honey another, to a greater 

 extent than has yet been generally 

 accomplislied ; and to secure this re- 

 sult, I know of no better plan than to 

 use a queen-excluding honey-board. 



