292 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Witb Replies thereto. 



[It IB quite uselesB to ask for answers to 

 Queries in this Department in less time 

 than one month. They have to wait their 

 turn, be put in type, and sent in about a 

 dozen at a time to each of those who answer 

 them ; get them returned, and then find 

 ■pace for them in the JotJRUAL. If you are 

 In a "hurry" for replies, do not ask for 

 them to be inserted here.— Kd.1 



The Flavor of Extracteil Honey. 



Query 415.— 1. Can extracted honey be 

 put on the market of as high and delicate a flavor 

 as conai) honey of the same Icind ? 2. If so, give 

 the best method of securing and handling the 

 same ?— N. J. 



1. I think so. 2.' Be sure that it is 

 thoroughly ripened.— A. J. Cook. 



Yes, sir. There is not space here 

 to give my method of working for ex- 

 tracted honey.— James Heddon. 



1. I hardly think it can. 2. I will 

 let others answer the second question, 

 as I have little experience.— G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



1. Yes. 2. Your best method of 

 handling and securing depends alto- 

 gether upon what sort of a market 

 and customers you have.— J. P. H. 

 Bbown. 



These questions hardly belong in 

 this department. It would require a 

 long article to explain the matter 

 fully.— J. E. Pond. 



1. My experience is that it cannot. 

 The finest quality of honey will ever 

 be sold in the comb.— G. L. Tinker. 



I think so. Leave it on the hive 

 until thoroughly ripened, then ex- 

 tract and keep sealed up from the 

 air.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



1. I think it can. 2. Take well- 

 ripened honey, extract it, and seal it 

 up at once. If it is exposed to the 

 atmosphere for any length of time, it 

 will lose its Jim flavor.— H. D. 

 Cutting. 



1. Yes. 2. Extract it as it is sold, 

 and not as it is gathered. That is 

 some more buncombe, some may say. 

 — C. W. Dayton. 



1. I think it might. 2. I do not 

 think I can answer this, and those 

 who can, will, I think, need more 

 room than they can have in this de- 

 partment.— C. C. MiLLEB. 



Some say no ; we say yes. Extract 

 when the crop is ripe, and treat it as 

 you would comb honey. If it granu- 

 lates you may melt it over water. 

 Extracted honey sometimes ferments, 

 but some comb honey does too.— 

 Dadant & Son. 



1. I think so without doubt. 2. The 

 honey should not be taken until it is 

 thoroughly evaporated and sealed. 

 Pass it through a cheese-cloth as it 

 runs from the extractor, and let it 

 have the air long enough for the im- 

 prisoned air to escape, and then close 

 the vessel tightly and keep it in a dry 

 place. I have samples of honey— ex- 



cepting one or two years— running 

 back to 1877, and every sample is well 

 preserved. I have found by 8 years' 

 experience, that the word " ex- 

 tracted," as applied to liquid honey, 

 has damaged my trade in the article 

 severely. In all these years I have 

 failed to teach my nearest neighbors 

 to adopt the misnomer. I have given 

 it up in despair, and now call it liquid 

 honey.— G. W. Desiaree. 



1. Yes. 2. Extract it after it is 

 sealed over and fully ripened ; then 

 put it into kegs or small packages for 

 the market.— The Editor. 



Frames for Extracting. • 



Query 416.— 1. When the standard Lang- 

 stroth hive is used for producing extracted honey, 

 is it best to use full-depth Becoud-stnries or shal- 

 low supers on the tiering-up plan? 2. How deep 

 should the frames for the latter be ? 3. What 

 thickness sliould the top and bottom bars be to 

 prevent sagging ? — New Jersey. 



I use full-depth Gallup frames with 

 9-32 of an inch thick top-bar.— G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



1. Full depth. 2. I use reversible 

 frames with i^-inch top-bars.— A. J. 

 Cook. 



1. I see no advantage in shallow ex- 

 tracting stories, except the pleasure 

 (?) of extracting twice instead of once. 

 — C. W. Dayton. 



Both the standard Langstroth frame 

 and a shallow 4J^-inch frame on the 

 tiering-up plan work well. I prefer 

 the latter. The top-bar is M-inch, 

 and the bottom-bar ^-inch.— J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



1. I should prefer shallow supers, 

 and work them on the tiering-up 

 plan. 2. From 5 to 7 inches. 3. The 

 top and bottom bars should be % of 

 an inch to prevent all sagging.— G. L. 

 Tinker. 



1 and 2. In the early honey harvest 

 I prefer a frame about 5 inches deep 

 to start tiering-up. 3. The top-bars 

 should be %-mcii ; bottom-bars, ^- 

 inch. If you use wired frames, make 

 the bottom-bars 3^-inch. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



1. I prefer full-sized frames. 2. The 

 regular Langstroth frames are 9% 

 inches deep inside. 3. I use wired 

 frames with centre support, and find 

 3-16-inch top-bars andjis-inch bottom- 

 bars sufBcient.— J. E. Pond. 



After trying both styles largely, we 

 much prefer a half-story super. We 

 make the upper frames 6 inches deep ; 

 two such stories hold more honey 

 than one full story, and are more 

 easily hiindled. We make top-bars 

 J^-inch thick, and bottom-bars %.— 

 Dad'ant & Son. 



1. Perhaps locality has something 

 to do with these things. I have used 

 both the half depth and full size Lang- 

 stroth frames for taking liquid honey 

 since 1879, and the shallow frames on 

 the tiering-up plan has given me the 

 best results. My half-depth frames 

 are 4%xl7M inches, the length being 

 the same as the standard Langstroth 

 frame. They are adjusted in cases 

 the same size of the top of the brood- 

 chamber, and are just bee-space 



deeper than the frames, viz : 5l£ 

 inches deep, and are made so as to be 

 interchangeable. For taking liquid 

 honey the frames should be worked 

 IJ^ inches apart from centre to cen- 

 tre, and must be fixed in the case so 

 that the cases can be handled without 

 the frames becoming misplaced. 2. 

 When foundation is used in full 

 sheets, 3^-inch will answer for the 

 top and bottom bars. — G.W .Demaree 



The shallow frames undoubtedly 

 possess some advantages in this direc- 

 tion, but whether they are of sufB- 

 cient weight to warrant their adop- 

 tion for this purpose alone, I cannot 

 say. I would suggest that the shal- 

 low frames be one-half the depth of 

 the Langstroth frame, or a trifle 

 deeper, and that the top and bottom 

 bars be a good , plump 5-16 of an inch. 

 — W. Z. Hutchinson.; 



1. Having used both for 16 years, I 

 have the advantages and disadvan- 

 tages between full and half depth 

 frames to be about equal. Consider- 

 ing the important feature of uni- 

 formity, I have lately used and would 

 advise full depth. 3. Every thing 

 depends. Do you use full sheets of 

 foundation or not. Do you wire the 

 frames or not V Do you use metal 

 standards or not ? Do you make the 

 frames of pine or poplar ?— James 

 Heddon. 



Use full-sized Langstroth frames. 

 The top-bars should be V-shaped, and 

 cut out of inch lumber ; then all 

 danger of sagging will be avoided. — 

 The Editor. 



Winter Repository for Bees. 



Query 417.— Suppose an earth-roofed 



cave, half under and half above ground, frost- 

 proof, well drained, well sub-earth ventilated, con- 

 taining a trough holding 2 barrels of water, into 

 which, and from which, by a sub-earth pipe passes 

 4 or 5 barrels of fresh water every morning and 

 evening, from a well (the temperature of which 

 water is 46 degrees Fahr.) 1. would such a cave 

 be a good winter repository for bees? 2. Will the 

 trough of water be a benefit or an inixiry to the 

 bees ? 3. How many colonies will be safe in such a 

 cave, tlae dimensions being 10x15 feet, and an 

 average of 6 feet high ?— 8., Central Ills. 



I see no great objections to such a 

 repository. 3. From 50 to 75 colonies. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



If the walls are dry, and you can 

 give ventilation when needed, you 

 can safely winter in it 150 colonies, or 

 as many as it will conveniently hold. 

 —Dadant & Son. 



1. l''es, if the temperature was 

 maintained at 44'3, and the hives ven- 

 tilated at the top. 2. Neither. 3. 

 According to my experiments in even 

 temperatures, 500 colonies.— C. W. 

 Dayton. 



1. Y''es. 2. I should say it would be 

 a benefit by keeping an even tempera- 

 ture, if nothing more. 3. As many as 

 it will conveniently hold.— G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



1 . I think it would be a good re- 

 pository for bees. 2. The water would 

 be a benefit ; it will absorb impurities 

 which would be carried out with the 

 water.— H. D. Cutting. 



1. It would depend upon the tem- 

 perature maintained in the cave. 



