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35tli Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., JANUARY 3, 1895. 



No. 1. 



Cojjtributed /Vrticles^ 



On Imiidrtaxit Apiarian Subjects, 



The Production of Extracted Honey. 



The first in a series of articles on the subject. 

 BY CHAS. DADANT. 



Until about 30 years ago there were but three ways of 

 harvesting honey, viz.: by smothering the bees with brimstone 

 burning under the hives to get the entire contents of the box ; 

 by driving out the bees for the same purpose ; and by placing 

 caps, or boxes, on the top of the hives, to secure the surplus 

 honey. 



The smothering of bees, which has been practiced for 

 thousands of years, is yet carried on in some parts of Europe. 



CHAS. DADANT. 



Even not far from Paris, the center of civilization and refine- 

 ment, in Gatinais — a district where the sainfoin (literal 

 translation, " healthy hay"), or French grass, is as extensively 

 cultivated as timothy and clover in North America — this cus- 

 tom of the dark ages seems to still prevail with quite a num- 

 ber of people. 



Every spring these bee-keepers of Gatinais purchase colo- 

 nies in box or straw hives— swarms of the previous year. 

 These purchases extend several hundred miles away, and the 

 colonies are sent, by carloads, to the Gatinais apiaries, where 

 the bees are brimstoned as soon as the hive has been filled on 

 the flowers of the sainfoin. As there are two varieties of this 



C. P. DADANT. 



plant, one blooming a little later than the other, it gives a 

 large quantity of honey, unsurpassed in quality. It is to be 

 much regretted that this good honey and forage leguminous 

 plant cannot be grown successfully here. Was it ever tried in 

 the West — in Colorado, California, or Oregon ? 



The profits thus obtained by the producers of the swarms, 

 and by the slaughterers of the bees, are so large that they de- 

 lay the introduction of movable-frame hives in the villages 

 where these customs prevail. 



After the bees have been killed, the combs are cut out of 

 the hives and sorted. Then each grade is put into a solar 

 honey-extractor, or in a tin box, subjected to a high tempera- 

 ture. After a few days, the honey having been drawn out, 

 the remaining combs are put under a powerful press, to ob- 

 tain what little honey may remain in the wax. 



The second method employed— that of driving out the 



