2-14 A Modern Bee-Farm 



However, there appears to be some objection made to 

 these, as the parts are liable to get out of order, and 

 many bee-keepers prefer the old style where the combs 

 have to be lifted out each time they are reversed. 



Mr. W. P. Meadows, of Syston, has introduced an 

 important improvement in extractors. As shown by Fig. 

 49, the wire cage against which the comb rests is itself 

 backed by a sheet of tin ; the two being firmly fastened 

 together, with an intervening space. The cage, or comb 

 basket, is made incapable of bulging by strips of tin 

 secured to the back at right angles to the same, and 

 running from top to bottom ; thus permitting of a higher 

 rate of speed without danger of breaking the combs. The 

 extractor requires multiplying gear to make it more 

 perfect, though a novice might certainly find it to his 

 advantage to have an extractor wherewith he could not 

 get up that excess of speed which would ruin his combs. 



A Prophetic Caution. 



I have on several occasions advised my readers to be 

 most careful as to the style of frame they adopt for the 

 purpose of extracting. Various widths are advocated, 

 ranging from |in, to i^in. but let us once and for all time 

 decide upon a 



Perfectly Plain Jin. Frame. 



Why ? Because the time is surely coming — it cannot 

 be otherwise, when uncapping by hand, will be superseded 

 by a simple mechanical process. I was the first to offer 

 a machine that would do it (1886), but I am still striving 

 for something more simple, and am quite sure the long- 

 looked-for process will soon be in evidence. Then why 

 not keep this ultimate goal in mind, and help to make its 

 advent less complicated, by adhering to a plain fin. 

 frame without lateral projections of any kind. 



