454 HONBT PRODUCTION. 



opaque strained honey, dark in color and strong in taste. By 

 the side of this unwholesome article, a little fancy comb honey 

 was sold, that led to a national preference for comb honey. 



But in view of the cost of comb to the bees (233), in honey, 

 time and labor, it was earnestly desired by progressive bee- 

 keepers, especially after the invention of the movable frames, 

 that some process be devised to empty the honey out of the 

 combs without damaging the latter, so that they could be re- 

 turned to the bees to be filled again and again. 



749. In 1865 the late Major de Hruschka, of Dolo, near 

 Venice, Italy, invented "II Smelatore," the honey extractor. 



It happened in this wise : He had given to his son, a small 

 piece of comb honey, on a plate. The boy put the plate in 

 his basket, and swung the basket around him, like a sling. 

 Hruschka noticed that some honey had been drained out by 

 the motion, and concluded that combs could be emptied by 

 centrifugal force. 



This invention was hailed, in the whole bee-keeping world, 

 as equal to, and the complement of, the invention of movable 

 frames; and it fully deserved this honor. 



750. As soon as we heard of the discovery, we had a ma- 

 chine made. It was not so elegant as those which are now 

 offered by our manufacturers. It was a bulky and cumbersome 

 affair ; four feet in diameter and three feet high ; yet it worked 

 to our satisfaction, and we became convinced, by actual trial, 

 of the great gain which could be obtained, by returning the 

 empty combs to the bees. 



751. Let us say here, that the profit was greater than we 

 had anticipated; but we, together with a great many others, 

 first committed the fault of extracting, before the honey was 

 altogether ripened by evaporation. Like "Novice" who thought 

 of emptying his cistern to put the overflow of his extracted 

 honey, we had to go to town again and again, for jars and 

 barrels, to lodge our crop. But experience taught us that we 

 cannot get a good merchantable article, unless the honey is 

 ripe. 



