182 
JOUnXAL OF HORTICULTURE AXD COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Murcli 1, 1888. 
the juices which one might expect to see thrown out. If the brood 
nest is glutted with honey it is in nearly all cases due to the negli" 
gence of the bee-keeper. If sufficient room is continually given above 
the brood nest to employ the bees, and empty cells are always ready 
to hold any probable harvest of honey, the bees will not store any 
large quantity below, but will carry it up and store it in the position 
in which instinct apparently leads them to store it. Most amateur 
foee-keepers, and not a few who profess to have great practical ex¬ 
perience, are far too eager to keep down the speed of the extractor, 
and consequently hrood is destroyed and thrown out, and the quality 
of the honey is deteriorated. If the bee-keeper has the great mis¬ 
fortune to have a glutted brood nest, he must take such measures 
as will no doubt suggest themselves to his mind to remedy the evil; 
but in no case should such combs be allowed to enter the extractor 
.unless the bee-keeper is willing to sacrifice some brood, and unless 
the honey so extracted is intended either for his own personal con- 
■sumption or for use in the apiary. 
Bee-keepers are often puzzled to know what description of 
extractor is most suitable for ordinary purposes. Price is of course 
a consideration, but when purchasing an appliance which may be 
expected to last for years, too great a stress should not be laid upon 
fhis point. Happily for the man who has not much cash to spare, 
the cheap extractors are quite equal to if not the superior of the more 
complicated machines with gearing, cogwheels, and other contriv¬ 
ances which in theory no doubt are a great assistance, but in practice 
very often do more harm than good. Geared extractors, which 
give so many revolutions of the cans to each turn of the handle, 
are responsible for more smashed and damaged combs than all other 
kinds put together. The simpler the better, then, must be the guide 
of a bee-keeper in purchasing an extractor. The can below the 
“ cages ” must hold some 40 lbs. of honey at least. The “ cages ” 
must be strong, and the wire netting against which the combs lie 
when the honey is being ejected from tiie cells should be strength¬ 
ened by bars of strong wire, or even thin iron or steel, running 
transversely across them. This is a most important point. The 
ordinary cage is not sufficiently strong to bear the pressure, and the 
netting often gives away at the corners, thus bringing the machine 
to a full stop, breaking the combs, and disappointing the person 
who is working, and who naturally desires to get along with all pos¬ 
sible speed. When this wire netting thus breaks out it occasions 
very considerable delay and damage, and the point is therefore 
worthy of attention. Extractors have been made from time to 
time, and some are advertised at the present time, to take more 
than two frames at once. I never had one in my possession and 
never saw one working, but it seems to be the prevalent opinion 
that no extractor of a really serviceable type has yet been made 
which is capable of taking more than two frames at once. By 
paying attention to these points most bee-keepers will be safely able 
to buy a suitable extractor. 
The four points to which attention should be paid by the 
inexperienced bee-keeper, especially in purchasing an extractor) 
are:— 
1, Simplicity. 
2, Capacity to hold 40 lbs. of honey at least. 
3, A two-comb size. 
4, Other things being equal, the cheapest. 
It is very easy to uncap a good level comb, but it has already 
been observed that it is a most difficult matter to unseal an 
irregular, badly built, series of cells. Such combs should either 
at once be put straight, or, if this is impossible, destroyed. Two 
knives are necessary in order to uncap combs with facility. One 
should be placed in hot water while the other is being used. Thus 
the knife not actually in the hand of the operator is cleansed 
repeatedly of any honey and wax adhering to it by the heat, which 
also enables the operator to pass the knife rapidly beneath the 
cappings, and to remove them in sheets. The ‘’Bingham” knives 
are very good for the purpose, but any strong sharp knife may be 
pressed into service. The cappings should be allowed to roll down 
the comb in front of the knife, so that the whole surface covering 
is removed without more than necessary trouble. If the cappings 
are not removed as a whole, or if the pieces fall on to the exposed 
surface of the honey behind the knife, it is most difficult to clear 
them away, and yet if they are allowed to remain they prevent the 
honey coming freely from the cells. The whole side of a comb can 
be cleared without breaking the roll of cappings if the operator is 
skilful and knows how to go about his work. 
Enough has now been written upon this subject to enable those 
who wish to do so to extract from their full combs. Experience 
alone can teach them some of the devices which they will learn by 
degrees to adopt in order to facilitate their work ; but in concluding 
we may advise every bee-keeper to turn the cage very slowly at 
first, gradually increasing the pace until the honey is freely thrown 
from the cells ; if a rapid pace is adopted to begin with, a smash 
is nearly always the result. “ Slow and sure” is a good old pro¬ 
verb, and one which should always be borne in mind by the bee¬ 
keeper. It would be tedious, and altogether unneces.sary, to mention 
any particular make of extractor, but if the machine is purchased 
from a firm of good standing, reliance may generally be placed 
upon the workmanship, and there is but a small possibility of dis¬ 
satisfaction owing to inherent defects in the appliance itself. • 
Felix. 
DEPOSING AND INTRODUCING QUEENS 
BY THE DIRECT METHOD. 
Deposing a queen or queens and the safe introduction of 
another are, perhaps, two of the most important matters connected 
with bee-keeping, and on which profitable bee-keeping so much 
depends. The necessity of having young queens at the head of all 
stocks throughout the season, and at different periods, is very great. 
The teaching that “ queens were at their best when three years old,” 
advanced in comtemporaries up till a very recent date, led to great 
loss of many who depended entirely upon what was written for 
their instruction. That queens sometimes live to a great age I 
have had ample proof ; still we must not hope that such long-lived 
queens can he profitable, and except in the case of a valuable pure¬ 
bred one, for the purpose of breeding queens from, all queens 
should be deposed during the month of July, and a young fertilised 
one take her place. Catching the aged queen by the ordinary 
methods employed is sometimes by no means an easy task, and very 
often a complete failure, which so upsets the young operator as to 
cause him to give it up in disgust, and leave the bees to their own 
dealing in such matters, which often ends in having either a drone 
breeder or a hive queenless. 
By the proper use of carbolic acid, manipulation is an easy, if 
not a pleasant matter, compared wnth older methods. The use of 
carbolic acid, known to me many years since, was held in abeyance 
for a long time, owing to the adverse reception it had from judges 
and exhibitors alike at our societies’ show some ten or twelve years 
ago. I was laughed at by many southern magnates. After I made 
the use of carbolic acid in manipulations public, many attempted 
to claim the idea, and at one exhibition I caught one person in 
the act of appropriation, which I might have passed over had he 
been judicious enough not to have contradicted me when helping 
to explain the process. 
The latest manipulation in catching a queen by the aid of 
carbolic acid will, I trust, help novices as well as practical bee¬ 
keepers to catch any queen expeditiously and without being stung. 
The hive in question is one that at the end of July at the Heather 
lost its old queen, which I had allowed to remain in the hive, as 
I was indisposed at the time. Owing to the extreme cold shortly 
after, my hees were brought home, and from the determination to 
rob I could not with safety manipulate outside, nor owing to the 
great number of bees in the hive, could I manipulate satisfactorily 
within doors. The queen I had in reservation for it was running a 
risk of being lost owing to the daily loss of her (at first) few 
attendants. On the 2Gth January the temperature had fallen from 
47’’ night temperature and 54° day, to 33° Fahr. during the day, 
with every likelihood of being still lower, as it did occur on the 
morning of the 29th, the thermometer then registering 15°, the lowest 
temperature during the whole season. On the 2r)th, in addition to 
the low temperature, there was a keen north wind. There was no 
time nor encouragement for further delay. I accordingly set to 
work dismantling the hive of all coverings, and I may here add, 
that although no bees have been bred in this hive since the begin- 
