HIVES FOR EXTRACTED HONEY 173 
Uncapping Knives.—To remove the cappings a knife with 
long blade is used. Straight knives were formerly in general use, 
but of late the Bingham knife has largely replaced all others. 
Fig. 85 shows this knife. For use it is kept hot by dipping in 
hot water. 
.\ somewhat similar knife heated by steam is used to some 
extent in large apiaries. The steam knife is hollow, and is 
attached by rubber tubing to a small vessel of water which is set 
over the burner of a small oil stove or lamp. A small hole at 
the end of the knife permits the escape of the steam. As the 
temperature of the knife is evener, it is more satisfactory. The 
cappings do not stick to the knife, or the operator does not have 
to stop frequently because it has become cold. 
Fig. 85.—Bingham uncapping knife. 
Hives for Extracted Honey.—While there is a difference of 
opinion regarding the size of hive most profitable for the pro- 
duction of comb honey, the bee-keepers are nearly all agreed that 
the large hive is the thing for extracted honey. The ten-frame 
Langstroth is more generally used for this purpose than any 
other (Fig. 86). Some extensive producers use a twelve-frame 
hive with the same size frames (Fig. 87). 
The Dadant hive is very satisfactory for this purpose, and 
were it not for the fact that the Langstroth frame is in more 
general use, it would find favor with the producer. The brood 
frames of the Dadant hive are too large, however, for extracting 
frames, thus requiring two sizes of frames. It is a decided 
advantage to have all frames in the apiary of the same size and 
style. 
Shallow extracting frames are good for use in connection 
with the comb honey apiary, but are not to be recommended for 
the production of extracted honey. Nearly as much time will be 
