468 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
Sections, especially if well advanced, may be spoiled 
by the inversion of frames of old combs immediately 
beneath them (page 109). The spoiling is certain if 
these have not been built on to the bottom rails, for 
nibbling and paring commence, in order that the 
comb may be accurately filled up to the rails now 
above. The parts removed get interwoven with the 
comb and cappings of the sections, discolouring them 
to an extent that those who have not tried the ex- 
periment would little imagine. 
Before considering the means by which the bees 
are to be induced to fill the sections, of which several 
types have passed before us, we must discuss the 
principles and practice of extraction — z>., of separating 
the honey from the comb without the destruction of 
the latter, as thus, commonly, the larger part of the 
bee-keeper’s harvest is now secured. 
About a decade and a half since, Herr von Hruschka 
effected an economy which largely increased the 
possible output of honey. He devised a machine 
known in its present form as the honey extractor, 
which threw, by centrifugal force, the honey from the 
cells, by suitably revolving the loaded combs; these 
were then returned to the bees, but little damaged, 
for repair and refilling. The previous processes of 
‘‘running,” “draining,” and “squeezing,” utterly 
destroyed the combs as such, leaving the bee-keeper 
in possession of the contained wax only, which pro- 
bably would not equal in value the amount* of honey 
necessarily consumed by the bees in order that they 
* The determination of this amount is bound about by difficulty, but 
the older estimates of 151b. or 2olb. are much too high. 
