130 A Modern Bee-Farm 



to find several advanced apiarists themselves entrapped into 

 thinking there is anything to be gained by re-adopting this old 

 and discarded fad. 



Well, we have our stored combs in the outer honey house, 

 and now they must go forward into the extracting room, having 

 been cleared of bees. We must first be sure that our 



Extracting Machine 



is quite clean, and that it has been firmly secured in a suit- 

 able place, high enough that the honey may be run off into 

 another large cylinder or tank, which again must have a treacle 

 valve at a convenient height for drawing off. The strainer 

 must cover the entire mouth of the tank, and be placed directly 

 under the valve of the extractor. We now require an 



Uncapping Can 



which is to be in two sections ; the upper part to receive the 

 cappings, with a strainer at bottom and one or more bars of 

 wood across the top whereon to stand the comb, while with 

 the 



Uncapping Knife, 



resting one end of the comb on the bars, and the upper end 

 held by the projecting ear in the left hand, with the top bar 

 towards you, with a sUghtly diagonal and sawing motion carry 

 the knife from top to bottom, removing not only the cappings 

 but all comb that may project beyond the plane of the frame ; 

 reverse, and serve the opposite side in like manner, when the 

 comb,is to be inserted in one of the cages of the extractor with 

 the top bar standing in a direction opposite to that in which 

 the revolutions are to be made, as the cells incHning towards 

 the top bar the honey leaves more readily. Now, unless the 



Rate of Speed 



be carefully regulated, the operator is liable to break his 

 combs, and thus render them difficult to handle; but by 



