294 



Beekeeping 



Fig. 117. — Steam- heated uncapping knife. 



clean and heat it, while the other is in use. Recently a 

 steam-heated knife (Fig. 117) has been put on the market 

 which is highly recommended by those who have tried it. 



Steam is generated in 

 a small boiler (such 

 as a one-gallon honey 

 can), passes through 

 a hose into a hollow 

 space in the knife 

 blade, escaping through a small hole in the tip. Some 

 European beekeepers use an instrument like a comb (Fig. 118) 

 for uncapping, but this is too slow for American beekeepers. 

 In uncapping, the lower end of the comb is placed on some 

 support and the comb is slightly tipped so that as the cap- 

 pings are cut off they fall away from the surface of the 

 comb (Fig. 119). If the 

 knife is first inserted at 

 the lower end of the comb 

 and brought upward with 

 a sawing motion, the cap- 

 pings fall away easily and 

 cause no inconvenience or smearing. Some beekeepers pre- 

 fer to begin cutting at the upper ep.d, thereby utilizing the 

 weight of the knife in cutting the comb. The upward cut 

 is practiced by most extensive beekeepers. 



Cans for capping s. 



The uncapping should be done over some sort of receptacle 

 into which the cappings will fall. Hutchinson used a simple, 

 cheap and satisfactory outfit, consisting of a barrel hung 

 with bent wires on the edges of a galvanized iron tub. Across 

 the top of the barrel is nailed a board through which is 

 driven a nail with the point upward. One of the end bars 

 of the frame is placed on this nail point and after one side 

 is uncapped, the frame is turned on the nail. Some bee- 

 keepers prefer to bore a one-inch hole in the cross piece 

 into which the projection on the bar of the frame is inserted. 



Fig. 118. 



- Comb for uncapping, 

 in Europe. 



used 



