208 Uie of the Extracton. 



as not to rust. A cover (Fig. 91) to protect the honey from 

 dust, when not in use, is very desirable. The cloth cover, 

 gathered around the edge by a rubber, as made by Mr. A. I. 

 Root, is excellent for this purpose. As no capped honey can 

 be extracted, it is necessary to uncap it , which is done by 

 shaving off the thin caps. To do this, nothing is better than 



- Fig. 93. 



the Bingham & Hetherington honey knife (Fig. 93). After 

 a thorough trial of this knife, here at the College, we pro- 

 nounce it decidedly superior to any other that we haveused, 

 though we have several of the principal knives made in the 

 United' States. This knife is peculiar for its thick blade which 



Fig. 94. 



is beveled to the edge. It is, perhaps, sometimes desirable to 

 have a curved point (Fig. 94), though this is not at all essen- 

 tial. 



USE OF THE EXTRACTOR. 



Although some of our most experienced apiarists say nay, 

 it is nevertheless a fact, that the queen often remains idle, or 

 extrudes ).?'si* eggs only to be lost, simply because there are nr. 

 empty cells. The honey yield is so great that the workers 

 occupy eve'-y available space, and sometimes even they become 

 unwilling idlers, simply because of necessity. Seldom a year 

 has passed but that I have noticed some of my most prolific 

 queens thus checked in duty. It is probable that just the 

 proper arrangement and best management of frames for sur- 

 plus would make such occasions rare; yet, I have seen the 

 brood-chamber in two-story hives, with common frames above 

 — the very best arrangement to promote storing above the 

 brood-chamber — so crowded as to force the queen either to 

 idleness or to fcgg-laying in the upper frames. This fact, as 



