AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



707 



to this part of your work at once, and 

 store up a little more knowledge before 

 the season of action is upon you. Read 

 up all practical rules in the books ; study 

 well the proceedings of all conventions, 

 and do not forget to attend and partici- 

 pate in the exercises of your home con- 

 ventions, and soon you will be switched 

 onto the main track that leads to the 

 city of Success. — Read at the Southwest- 

 ern Wisconsin Convention. 

 Boscobel, Wis. 



Coml) anfl Eitractefl-Honey, 



B. C. GEIFFITH. 



I was called upon to deliver an ad- 

 dress before the North Carolina Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, and send it for 

 publication in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. It was substantially as follows : 



For the production of a crop of honey, 

 the first requisite is a strong force of 

 young and vigorous bees at the begin- 

 ning of the honey-flow. 



Geo. E. Hilton says the time to put on 

 sections is when the raspberry comes 

 into bloom, and from this I judge the 

 time for us is when the blackberry be- 

 gins to bloom — last year to the contrary 

 notwithstanding. Keep all the colonies 

 strong, is the watchword, if you wish to 

 gather honey ; and another thing is to 

 have a good queen in the colony laying 

 eggs by the thousands. A poor queen, 

 a poor colony of bees ; results, no honey. 



The combs should be filled by the bees 

 and " cap shut," as the Dutchman called 

 it, before the honey should be extracted, 

 as this capping is evidence of ripe honey. 

 If taken from the combs before ripe, it 

 may ferment and be a vinegar crop, in- 

 stead of honey. 



The extractor was invented in 1865, 

 by Maj. de Hruschka, of Dolo, near 

 Venice, Italy. He first discovered it by 

 giving to his son a piece of comb-honey 

 on a plate ; the boy put the plate in his 

 basket and swung it around him like a 

 sling. The father noticed that some 

 honey had been drained out by the 

 motion, and came to the conclusion that 

 combs could be emptied by centrifugal 

 force. The bee-keeping world hailed 

 this invention with delight. 



A. I. Root, of Medina, O., claims to 

 have extracted the first ton of honey 

 ever taken from one apiary, with the 

 extractor. From that time to this the 

 extractor has been manufactured and 

 scattered to all parts of the world. In 

 almost every hamlet, the extractor can 



be heard singing its song (a land flowing 

 with milk and honey), on autumn even- 

 ings. While the extractor has been the 

 means of saving many tons of honey, 

 yet I am convinced that there are tons 

 upon tons lost for the want of bees to 

 gather the precious nectar. 



Nothing is added to it, and nothing 

 taken from it, but the comb. It is not 

 the old-fashioned "strained honey " of 

 our grandfathers, which was obtained 

 from brood-combs mashed up with dead 

 bees, pollen and dirt, and then strained 

 through an old mill sack. But it is the 

 pure (liquid) nectar, gathered from the 

 flowers by the bees, and carried to the 

 hives by them, which will give health to 

 the body, force to the mind, and strength 

 to the intellect of those who use it. 



It should always be kept before the 

 consumers of honey that its granulating 

 is a guarantee of its purity, and if they 

 desire to liquefy it, that it can be done 

 by placing the vessel in warm water, 

 gradually increasing the heat until it 

 becomes liquefied. But great care must 

 be exercised in heating honey, as there 

 is danger of injuring it. 



During the past season I extracted 

 some before thoroughly ripe, and it be- 

 gan to ferment ; I put it into a large tin 

 boiler to heat over a very slow fire, aim- 

 ing to heat just sufGciently to evaporate 

 it, but before I was aware, I came near 

 spoiling 60 pounds of honey, though we 

 used it at home. So you see it is a care- 

 ful job, and must be performed with 

 prudence. 



GriflBth, N. C. 



Anicntnral Notes from Mmli 



J. M, YOUNG. 



Three hours of slow rain yesterday has 

 put the ground in excellent condition for 

 planting and cultivating. 



The season so far is encouraging for a 

 good honey crop this year. 



The apple bloom furnished consider- 

 able honey for brood-rearing, and now 

 the hives are becoming crowded with 

 bees. 



The new Benton cage, for shipping 

 queens, is a success. This cage seems 

 to be an improvement over all others. 

 The plan of introducing by letting the 

 bees eat the candy out and releasing the 

 queen, can be pretty well depended upon 

 in nearly every instance. 



I have ordered a few of the dovetailed 

 hives, and, to say the least, they are 



