6 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS OK APICXJLTUKE. 



upper story is cleared of bees and the frames of honey may be re- 

 moved easily. If the queen is in the upper story, however, as she 

 may be if no perforated zinc is used, or as she occasionally is any- 

 how, the bees will not desert the brood, and there will still be bees 

 on the combs. Escapes may be put on by quickly lifting the upper 

 story and inserting the board in the evening, and by the next morning 

 the upper story will usually be entirely clear of bees. 



After the combs are removed from the hive, they should be kept 

 covered so that the bees in the air will not begin to rob. The manner 

 of carrying them to the extracting room will depend on the number 

 of combs to be carried and the arrangement of the apiary. Tin 

 buckets holding five combs at a time may be used ; an extra hive body 

 is often fixed with a handle and cloth cover, or the entire hive body 

 may be carried in on a cart or otherwise if it is free from bees. 



THE EXTRACTING ROOM. 



The place where the honey is extracted should be so arranged that 

 no bees can enter it when attracted by the odor of the honey. The 

 windows should be so built that if some bees do enter they can easily 

 get out through bee escapes or cones so constructed that no other bees 

 will be able to find the opening. Bee escapes may be used, but usu- 

 ally a better plan is to have the windows covered with wire cloth 

 tacked on the outside, the wire cloth extending above the window 

 about 6 inches and held away from the side of the house by quarter- 

 inch strips. Bees almost always crawl upward and they will crawl 

 up the netting and out through the top openings, but other bees will 

 not try to get in that way. A screen so arranged will allow a very 

 large number of bees to escape very quickly. That the extracting 

 room be "bee tight" is practically the only absolute requirement. 

 Honey should never be extracted in the open air except during a 

 heavy honey flow, when bees are not inclined to rob. Where several 

 apiaries are under the management of one man, it is sometimes de- 

 sirable to make a portable extracting house on wheels so that it may be 

 taken from place to place. 



UNCAPPING HONEY. 



The honey, before it is extracted, must be uncapped, and this should 

 be done with a long knife which is kept sharp, clean, and warm. 

 There are several types of uncapping knives. If a considerable 

 amount of honey is to be extracted, it is desirable to have two or more 

 knives for each operator so that one may be heated in hot water as 

 the other is used. 



As the cappings of wax are cut off some honey flows out, and con- 

 sequently the uncapping should be done over a regular uncapping box 



