EXTRACTED HONEY 



55 



are bevelled to form a very keen cutting imjjle- 

 meut. To do nice work the knife should ))e very 

 sharp, clean, and hot. Bee-keepers in a small 

 way keep the knife heated in a slialkiw pan of water over 

 a kerosene lamj). For more extensive operations there 

 is a steam-heated knife. It is decidedly an advantage to 

 work with two knives when relying on hot water to heat 

 them; for one is getting hot while the other is in use. 

 With the steam knife, the temperature is maintained and 

 sui)plied to the blade — which is hollow — through a rubber 

 tube connected with a small boiler. 



UNCAPPIXG-CAX. 



Until recently, all Ijee-keepers uncapped the combs 

 over an uncappiug-box or tank. A large number still 

 use the uncapping-can 

 illustrated iu Fig. 21). It 

 is really two cans, one fit- 

 ting on top of the other. 

 The u})|)er part has wire 

 cloth soldered over the 

 l)ottoni and a wooden bar 

 fastened across the top. 

 It has a sliarp spike pro- 

 jecting upward, on which 

 to rest the end-bars of the 

 frames. The lower por- 

 tion is cone-sha]ied on the ^'s. 29. uneappmg can. 

 Jiottom, with a honey-gate soldered in such, a way that it 

 drains off the honey from the ca]:)i)ings rather conveni- 

 ently. The addition of handles renders it much easier to 

 lift about. If the honey-house is of tlie one-floor type, it 

 will be necessary to raise the can high enougli to allow a 

 vessel to stand under the gate. An alternative is to 

 sink a "well" or hole in the floor, to accommodate the 

 tin or bucket. If the extracting is conducted on the 

 second fioor of the lioney-house, the unca]iping-can is 



