IMPLEMENTS. 



49 



Fig. 33. 



-Williams' automatic reversible 

 honey extractor. 



, should be tinned, 



HONEY EXTRACTORS AND HONEY KNIVES. 



The lioney extractor (fig. 33) consists of a large can, within whioli a 



light metal basket revolves. The full combs of honey, from which tlie 



cappings of the cells have been removed by a sharp knife, are placed 



inside the basket and after several 



rapid revolutions by means of a sim- 



l)]e gearing are found to have been 



emptied of their contents. The combs, 



only very slightly damaged, can then 



be returned to the hives to be refilled 



by the bees. If extra sets of combs 



are on hand to supply as fast as the 



bees need the room in which to store 



honey, great yields can often be ob- 

 tained. A good extractor should be 



made of metal, and the basket in 



which the combs are revolved should 



be light, strong, and doubly braced 



on the outside so that the wire-cloth 



surface, against which the combs 



press, will not yield. The wire cloth 



used, as well as all interior parts of the extractor 



as acids of honey act on galvanized iron, zinc, iron, etc. Wire cloth 



made of coarse wire and with meshes one-half inch square is often 



used, but it injures the surface of new combs and those very heavy 



with honey more than that made 

 of about Xo. 20 wire and with 

 one-fourth-inch meshes. 



For removing the wax cov- 

 ering witli which the bees close 

 the full cells a peculiarly shaped 



knife, known as an uncapping knife, is needed (figs. 34 and 3o). The 



blade, which shouhl be of the finest steel to hold a keen edge, is fixed 



at such an angle with the handle as to keep the hand that grasps the 



latter from rubbing over the surface of the comb or the edges of the 



frames. The form of knife with 



curved point is best adapted to 



reach any depression in the comb, 



which, if uncapped and em])tied 



of its honey, will likelj^ next time 



be built out even with the general 



surface. Dipping the knife in hot water facilitates rapid work, and 



of course the heavier-bladed knives hold the heat better than thin- 



bladed ones, and are for this reason preferred by some: also because 



they more surely lift the capping clear from the surface of the comb. 

 4520—^0. 1 4 



Fig. 34. — Quinby uncapping knife. 



Fig. 



35. — Bingham <fe Hetherington uncapping 

 knife. 



