§ xiv.] THE HONEY-EXTRACTOR. 193 



for tying and fixing the combs in the new frame. The 

 operator should place the board upon a table so that its 

 front, or the upper edges of the inclined laths, face him 

 as he stands. 



§ XIII. HONEY-CUTTERS. 



Honey-cutters are used for removing comb from boxes 

 and glasses without damaging it. The flat-bladed knife 

 is for disconnecting the combs from 

 the sides ; the hook-shaped one is | y'" 

 to be applied to the top or hori- 

 zontal part of the box or glass. We ^"^ 

 have recently introduced a knife with both these blades, 

 one respectively at each end. 



§ XIV. THE HONEY-EXTRACTOR. 



The first notion of extracting honey from the combs 

 by centrifugal motion was the result of an accident. A 

 son of Major von Hruschka, a bee-keeper in Germany, 

 tied a piece of honeycomb to a string, and in play 

 whirled it round the inside of a pail. Finding that the 

 honey was ejected and the cells of the comb left dry, 

 the idea was suggested to Herr von Hruschka of con- 

 structing a machine for the purpose, and this he soon 

 afterwards did. The first honey- extractor was a wooden 

 vessel with something like a broomstick working on a 

 pivot in the centre ; to this axle, provision was made for 

 attaching a framework to carry the combs, and the 



13 



