EXTRACTING 
335 
day the accumulation from the day before 
is pitched toward one end of the tank, and 
in this way the honey from the new cap¬ 
pings does not have to drain thru the dry 
ones again. 
Still another plan, that has come into use 
recently, consists of a series of cleated 
trays. One tray is supported just high 
enough so that one end can rest on the top 
of a common wash-boiler to catch the hon¬ 
ey. The cappings fall from the knife di¬ 
rectly upon the tray, and are spread 
around occasionally. When the first tray 
holds all the cappings that can be put on 
without falling off, they are spread out 
somewhat and another tray put on top of 
it, and the process repeated. The weight 
of the two trays above presses the honey 
out of the cappings below. The longer the 
work continues, the greater the weight on 
the lower trays. Finally, the under trays 
may be removed, the dry cappings scraped 
off, and the trays used over again. 
Each tray has a solid tin bottom, two 
sides and one end of which are turned up 
to prevent the honey from dripping off. 
The open end, which should be the lowest, 
is placed over the wash-boiler. The cleats 
are evenly spaced and rigidly held by per¬ 
forated metal nailed on top. When one 
tray is full and the next tray put on top, 
it should be so placed tjuat the open end is 
perhaps a half-inch beyond the end of the 
tray beneath, so that the honey may drip 
directly into the boiler, and not on the end 
of the tray beneath. 
The total outfit of trays is not very ex¬ 
pensive, blit this plan, of course, does not 
lend itself very well to a portable outfit. 
CAPPING-MELTERS. 
There is no plan of draining cappings 
which secures all of the honey. A small 
percentage is always left, for the process 
of draining cannot be kept up indefinitely, 
owing to the tendency of the honey to 
granulate. The cappings after several days, 
tho they may look hard and dry, really 
contain considerable honey, the exact 
amount depending upon the efficiency of 
the plan used. Of course, when these cap¬ 
pings are transferred to a solar wax-ex¬ 
tractor the honey and wax are separated, 
but the honey is darkened and injured by 
the process, 
To separate the honey and wax immedi¬ 
ately so that everything can be cleaned up 
when the extracting is over, capping-melt- 
ers have gradually come into use. It can 
not be denied that it is a great convenience 
to get rid of the cappings as fast as the 
work progresses, for it is hard work to 
handle cappings that are heavy with hon¬ 
ey. When the day’s work is finished, noth¬ 
ing is left but a layer of melted wax, which, 
after it has cooled over night, needs only 
scraping to be ready for market, the honey 
meanwhile being in shape to strain and 
empty into the main tank with the rest. 
Honey that has been taken from the cap- 
ping-melter strains quickly because it is 
warm. 
If the capping-melter is crowded too 
fast, or if one having a too limited capac¬ 
ity is used, it may clog up so that a quan¬ 
tity of the honey will be confined and thus 
subjected to the heat for a considerable 
length of time.' Under such circumstances 
it is likely to become darkened and 
scorched slightly in flavor. With a prop¬ 
erly designed melter, however, or one that 
is large enough for the work on hand, there 
is scarcely any difference to be noted be¬ 
tween the honey that has gone thru it and 
that which has been extracted from the 
combs in the regular way. It is true that 
if honey has been allowed to cool under 
the wax, it takes on a waxy flavor, which, 
while not disagreeable, is yet pronounced 
enough to enable one to distinguish it from 
the rest of the honey. On this account a 
separating can should be used to separate 
the honey from the hot wax as soon as pos¬ 
sible. 
There are some localities where honey in 
cappings candies very quickly—sometimes 
in 24 or 48 hours, and under these condi¬ 
tions a capping-melter is almost a necessi¬ 
ty. When one desires to melt up granu¬ 
lated honey or granulated comb honey, a 
capping-melter is the very best arrange¬ 
ment to use, because there is practically no 
danger of scorching the honey, and yet the 
work may be done quickly. 
One of the simplest capping-melters is a 
hot-water jacketed can having a gate at 
the bottom for an outlet on the principle 
of a double boiler. The melter is not 
adapted for the largest apiaries as it is 
designed for a single-burner stove only. 
