BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Extracting Honey.Extracting the honey from the combs is in itself a simple enough operation, consisting in first slicing the waxappings off the sealed honey-comb by means of an uncapping knife, then placing the frames, two, four, or more at a time, upright into the comb-baskets of one or other of the various styles of honey extractors, when by turning the crank handle the baskets are revolved round a central shaft inside a tin can, and the honey is thrown out from one side of the comb against the side of the can by the centrifugal force produced. The combs are then reversed; in the smallest kind of extractor (The Novice), as shown in Fig. 1, the combs have to be lifted out and re-inserted with the opposite side facing out. In the Cowan two-frame extractor (Fig. 2), each of the comb-baskets is swung round without removing the comb; while in machines of four or more comb eapacity the baskets are connected by a sprocket chain (Fig. 3), and the reversing of one will reverse all the combs. In the latest type of extractor the reversing of the driving gear automatically reverses the combs. In large apiaries in the best honey districts petrol engines are used to drive the extractors, the reversing action being obtained by means of the slip gear, which causes either the one or the other of the bevelled egg wheels seen on top of the extractor in the illustration (Fig. 4) to grip the horizontal egg of the centre shaft, and thus drive the reel with the comb-baskets in either a right gr left hand direction, the comb-baskets being automatically reversed at the same time. By using a power-driven extractor,appings nelter, honey ripener, and a system of gravitation from the extractor to the settling tank, three men can easily take 1 ton of honey in a day of ordinary working hours. As it often happens during heavy honey flows that there are days when, owing to strong wind, extreme heat or cold, no honey can be taken off the hives, and yet the bees continue to bring it in notwithstanding these drawbacks, it becomes necessary to get a maximum of extracting done while conditions are favorable for this operation, so as to provide storage room for the bees and to prevent them gluttoning the brood combs with honey. With several hundred colonies in a good locality, the additional yield obtained will more than cover the cost of engine, reducer, honey heater, &c., in one season.
For apiaries of up to 100 colonies in ordinary average localities, a Cowan two or four frame extractor, driven by hand (Figs. 2 and 3), will be sufficient. When only a few colonies are kept, without any prospect of increase owing to the character of the locality, a Novice extractor (Fig. 1) will answer all requirements. To any one, however, commencing bee-keeping anywhere with the intention of gradually increasing the number of hives and moving to a suitable
Figure 3: Real of Four Comb Reversible Extractor.
locality I would recommend obtaining a two-frame Cowan reversible at the start, as the difference between it and the Novice is not more than 10s. to 12s. 6d.
Whatever kind of extractor is used, the same general rules will apply; but it should be borne in mind that the smaller the diameter of the extractor the faster it has to be turned to remove the honey from the combs, and the more liable are the latter to fracture, because the nearer the comb is to the centre shaft the more divergence there is in the direction of the centrifugal force acting on the comb at different points.
When inserting uneapped combs into the extractor-baskets or withdrawing empty ones, it should be done without brushing against the wire screen, otherwise the cells will become burred, preventing the honey coming clean out of the cells, and causing unnecessary work to the bees. This bruising of the cells will also occur in uncapping the combs when the combs are tough and the knife blunt. The uncapping knife should be as sharp as a razor. Extracting combs should be straight, and present an even surface after being uncapped, so as to rest evenly against the wire screen of the extractor-baskets.
Before extracting is commenced the honey should be properly ripe.
Unripe honey is inferior in density and flavour, granulates sooner, and, when too thin and containing tannic acid, will even become very dark when it comes in contact with iron. Most Australian honeys contain tannic acid in traces; but, when properly ripe, the acid does not act on the iron of the tins. No general rule can be laid down
Figure 4: Extracting Plant of Large Modern Apiary.
as to when honey is ripe; it depends upon the source from which the bees gather the nectar and the degree of humidity of the atmosphere at time of storing by the bees.
While honey from different plants varies considerably when fully ripe in the percentage of water it contains, ripe honey from one and the same source, but gathered in different localities, or even in the same locality but under different atmospheric conditions, will contain water in varying proportions.
During the summer months, in districts north of the Dividing Range which have a rainfall not exceeding 30 inches, honey is considered ripe when the combs have one-half to two-thirds of their surface capped over by the bees. In the country south of the Divide, and in districts with a heavy rainfall, it is better to leave the combs on the hives till nearly capped all over. This also applies to the northern districts during early spring and late autumn.
On the other hand, during very dry weather honey may beeome over-dense and difficult to extract, even when not sealed. This sometimes oceurs when a cold change, without rain, follows hot weather with a good honey flow. It is always best not to take off honey when the weather is cold, unless it is unavoidable. The combs must then be stored, and the extracting done in a warm room.
Beginners often have difficulties through damaging the combs whilst in the extractor. This may result from several causes; the honey in the combs may have been too cold, the extractor may have been turned too fast at the start, the combs may have been too warm and soft, or the frames may not fit evenly against the wires of the extractor-baskets.
Figure 5: An Apiary in Ideal Bee Country.
It must here be pointed out that there is at least one kind of honey which cannot be removed from the combs by extracting; it is that gathered from one of the tea-trees (\(L_{\mathit{rep}spec\mathit{r}m\mathit{H}\mathit{H}\mathit{H}\mathit{H}}\mathit{ sco\mathit{r}m\mathit{H}\mathit{H}}\)) found near the coast and in wet places elsewhere. In some localities it is known as wild may. The honey from this plant is very dark, strong-smelling, and rank in taste, and fit only for manufacturing purposes. The class of country producing this kind of honey should be avoided by bee-keepers. When, however, it occurs in belts in some of the best redgum and box districts, it provides a valuable stand-by for the bees during the "off" season. This honey, although it appears very dense, really contains a high percentage of water, but after being stored in the cells it sets like jelly, so that it can be removed with a pin in one piece. The only way of getting it from the combs is to ent them out, and melt and separate in aappings reducer; better use can, however, be made of it by reserving it for the bees as winter food, provided that it is not the only crop of the locality.
Honey from the red box eucalypt is very dense, and it is almost impossible to extract it without damaging the combs once it has been allowed to become cold in the combs. In a lesser degree this may also be said of yellow box honey. To extract dense honey without damaging the combs the extractor should be turned slowly till about half the honey of one side of the combs has left the cells; the combs are then reversed and the speed increased till that side of the combs has been enptied. Then the combs are again reversed, when the honey left in the cells on the other side is thrown out.
## X.--Uncapping Combs.
Before the honey can be extracted from the combs of the modern frame hive, the wax caps with which the bees have covered the cells of honey have to be removed. This is done by means of what is known as an uncapping, or honey, knife--a stout knife 8 to 12 inches in length with two cutting edges, bevelled from one side, and an off-set handle. To uncap quickly and without damaging the combs, the honey knife should be as sharp as a razor and must be kept in hot water so that it will easily pass the comb surface on one side and the sheet ofappings on the other. Two knives may be used with advantage, so that while the operator is working with one, the other is getting hot for the next comb. There are several different knife-heaters, one of which, seen in the illustration (Fig. 3), is heated by a small lamp. When a cappings melter is used, a separate knife-heater is not required, the knives being hung into the hot water of the apparatus as shown on the left in Fig. 2.
The uncapping of the combs and the extracting of the honey should be done as soon after the combs are taken from the hive as possible, if the weather is at all cool, unless a warm room is available in which to keep them. Combs uncap and extract best at the temperature they are in a hive crowded with bees.
There are different ways of uncapping combs, cutting upwards or downwards, crossways of the frame or lengths; but in each instance the bevelled edge of the knife is towards the comb, the severed cappings passing over the broad face of the knife. The majority of operators use the upward stroke; the frame is placed on end over the eappings reeeptatele, the knife is started at the lower side bar of the frame and with a slightly sawing motion drawn upwards, the top and bottom bars of the frame aeting as a guide to the bevel of the knife, if a long one is used. To prevent the severed eappings falling baek against and sticking to the surface of the comb, the frame should be tilted slightly forward, as in Fig. 2. Before returning the knife to the hot water it should be drawn across the edge of the wooden frame support to free it of honey and wax. The hand holding the frame should be kept baek behind the wood of the frame, as in Fig 1, to prevent cutting it should the knife slip at the end of the cut. Uneapping, as in Fig. 3, is likely to result in damage to one's fingers. To keep the honey knife in good order, the edge used for uneapping should not be utilized for trimming burr combs off top or bottom bars where nail-heads are likely to be met. The knife should not be left in the heating water during intervals in the work; and when being sharpened should be ground from the bevelled side only, and brought to a fine edge with an oil-stone.
A receptacle into which the eappings drop as they are shaved off the combs is necessary. The simplest form consists of a vessel with a perforated bottom through which the honey drains into a lower receptacle. For larger apiaries a trough, with a perforated false botton an inch above the real one, and a honey gate at one end, will be found more serviceable. It should be large enough to hold the cappings of a day's work, as they drain very slowly; they should be broken up and worked about now and again to hasten draining. In Fig. 3 an uncapping can is shown, the
Figure 2: Uncapping into Patent Cappings Reducer.
honey from theappings drains through a wire screen and is drawn off through a honey gate at the bottom.
Even when allowed to drain for several days, a considerable amount of honey remains in the drained cappings, and although this is recovered when the material is melted down for wax, it is dark in colour and of a waxy flavour. The drained cappings are usually transferred to the solar wax extractor, a tin-lined box covered with a pane of glass facing the direct rays of the sun, and in which the wax melts and liberates the
Figure 3: Uncapping Can. Wrong way of holding Comb.
loney.
Cappings are, however, awkward and slow to handle, and as the solar extractor does not work on cloudy or hazy days, accumulations occur during the busy season. By means of eappings melters, all handling of this sticky material is dispensed with, the eappings are melted as fast as they are sliced off, and honey and wax separated.
Several different types of reducers, as eappings melters are called, are on the market. The simplest form is that shown in Fig. 1, and consists of two metal cans, one inside the other, with a space for water between them. It is heated from the bottom by a kerosene stove placed under the stand, a double wire screen prevents unmelted wax escaping by the outlet gate, while tho honey knife is kept hot in an opening between the inner and outer can. Honey and wax flow out into the receiving vessel together, and separate owing to their different specific gravity.
The wax is allowed to set on top of the honey, and thereby imparts a flavour to the latter. This apparatus is known as the "Simple Cappings Melter."
For apiaries of fifty colonies and over it is best to have the "Patent Cappings Reducer," illustrated in Figure 2. It is composed of an outer and an inner metal casing forming a jacketed space for water between the two. Two opposite sides are connected transversely by square tubes set \(\frac{1}{5}\) inch apart forming a grid. This apparatus is made of copper, which is tinned where it comes in contact with honey or wax, while it is encased in wood to conserve heat. It rests on an iron stand, and is heated by a kerosene stove.
The eappings, as they leave the honey knife, fall on to the grid of tubes, on which they quickly melt in contact with the hot metal, the resulting liquid passing through betwe
Figure 4: New Perfection Oil Stove for Heating Capping Melters.
receiving tray in the lower part of the machine. This receiver is made of stout tin, in the shape of a drawer, with a board front. At its lowest point it connects with an elbow swivel tube on the outside, which is set to the correct elevation to keep the level of the liquids in the tray slightly below the wax outlet tube on the upper part of the receiver. Before commencing work sufficient honey is put into the receiver to cover the end of the honey tube inside the tray. As liquid wax and honey accumulate, and the level of the upper and outside end of the tube is reached, honey will commence to flow from the elbow tube, while the liquid wax, owing to its lesser specific gravity, floats on top of the honey, and gradually rising overflows into a mould placed underneath the wax outlet tube in front of the machine.
The elevation of the honey tube should be such that while a continuous overflow of honey and wax is maintained during uncapping of combs, both liquids should run from the machine free from impurities, the dross, of which there is a considerable quantity when old black combs are uncapped, should remain in the tray. Before uncapping the last super of combs the honey-tube may be slightly raised to force as much wax out of the wax tube as can be got out clean; when all the cappings have disappeared through the grid the honey tube is gradually lowered, and the honey allowed to run till the first indications of impurities appear, when it is turned up. The cake of dross, which still contains a little wax, is removed from the tray when cold, sufficient honey generally remains to cover the end of the honey tube ready for further work. From what has been said, it will be seen that the well-known U tube prineiple is employed to effect continuous automatic separation of liquids of different specific gravity; the receiver representing one arm of the tube and the elbow tube the other.
A stove is needed to keep the water in the machine at boiling point. A Primus stove may be used, but, while it will work quickly, it will give rather too much heat when used in full blast, and requires occasional pumping up and pricking. The New Perfection Blue Flame Oil Stove, illustrated in Figure 4, will be found the most satisfactory means of heating cappings melters. It takes somewhat longer than the Primus stove to bring water to the boiling point, but the heating power can be adjusted to a moiety, and, if handled according to the instructions supplied with it, requires no attention whatever. Under the Patent Cappings Reducer it is used without the iron stand supplied with it, so that the funnel may project through the circular opening in the top of the Reducer stand. Under this Reducer the stove rests on a support, as shown on the left of the illustration (Figure 4). For other purposes it is used in the stand shown in the centre.
## XI.--Treatment of Honey After Extracting.
Clear honey realizes a better price than cloudy or congealed samples; the latter is the trade term applied to candied honey. Producers should, therefore, aim at having their honey remain clear and liquid for as long a time as possible. This can be accomplished by the removal of the factors which hasten granulation, namely, excess of moisture, pollen grains and air bubbles.
The percentage of water in honey depends upon the degree of humidity of the atmosphere at the time the nectar is gathered and converted into honey by the bees, and, to a lesser degree, the flora from which the nectar was obtained. Honey the produce of ground flora such as elovers, dandelion, cape weed, &c., is generally not so dense as honey from encalypts, and as a rule candies quickly.
When granulation takes place, the crystallizing sugar will sometimes settle to the bottom of the vessel, while the non-crystallizing portion remains on top. This peculiarity of some honeys is often noticed when it is put up in glassware, and has given rise to the erroneous idea that sugar has been added.
In a moist district, or in any locality late in the season, honey should not be extracted until the combs are well sealed over by the bees. Not only does the percentage of water in honey stand in a certain ratio to the humidity of the atmosphere at the time of gathering, but even after being extracted it will give off or absorb water from the atmosphere, acting in this respect much in the same way as salt.
In the combs of the bee-hive, honey is to a large extent protected against the varying influence of atmospheric moisture by the wax cap with which each cell is closed by the bees, when the honey has reached a certain degree of density. The honey producer should adopt the same means of excluding moisture by hermetically closing the vessels containing honey. Further, it should be noted in connexion with the wintering of bees, that the winter stores should consist of sealed honey. Honey gathered late in the season, stored into combs previously extracted, cannot be properly ripened and sealed over by the bees owing to the low temperature and high humidity of the atmosphere, and when consumed by the bees will react detrimentally on their health and vitality. When bees are in a state of nature, little or no honey will be stored so late in the season, all available comb having been filled earlier. The building of new comb is possible only.at a comparatively high temperature.
## Heating Honey to Prevent Granulation.
During or after extracting all honey should be heated to 160 degrees (Fahr.). At this temperature, honey is as thin as water, readily clears itself of air bubbles, pollen grains, and particles of wax, all of which rise to the surface, while at the same time a certain percentage of water evaporates and some of the crystallizing sugar is inverted, or changed into a non-crystallizing kind.
At ordinary temperature honey is an exceedingly sluggish liquid, and it is impossible to strain it through anything fine enough to remove impurities. With the application of heat, the necessity for straining disappears, all impurities rising to the surface, where they can be skimped off when the honey is cooled down again. As stated, honey is a sluggish liquid, but it is also a poor conductor of heat: it is very important not to lose sight of these two factors when heating honey, otherwise it may be badly injured in colour and flavour.
When heat is applied to a vessel containing water, circulation at once commences, and the temperature of the whole body rises simultaneously; not so with honey; it is quite possible to burn portion of a in of honey while the remainder is still quite cold, or in a candidied state. Thus, it will be seen that the methods employed in heating other liquids cannot be used for honey. Heat should never be applied direct. Vessels containing the honey to be heated should be put into another vessel containing water. The heat is applied to the outer vessel either direct, by means of hot water circulation or by steam conducted into the water. The temperature of the water surrounding the tins should never exceed 170 degrees Fahr., unless the honey is kept in motion by continuous stirring.
If honey is heated at time of extracting it will not only be much clearer and brighter, but the candying will be, to a great extent, prevented, or considerably delayed. Moreover, honey so heated, if eventually it does candy, while still in the hands of the producer, will not throw up a layer of seam when being reliquified, as is the case with honey not previously heated.
It is, therefore, desirable that all honey should be heated before being packed for market; but as at extracting no time is available to heat honey in the laborious way of immersing tins in hot water before emptying them into the settling tank, an apparatus which will automatically heat the honey on its way from the extractor to the honey tank, is a great labour-saving device in the production of honey on a large scale. This apparatus, known as the honey-heater, consists of an inclined plane, divided off into a number of narrow races, down which the honey from the gate of the extractor passes in a thin stream over a hot metal surface. Quick heating to the required temperature is obtained by the spreading out of the stream of honey over a comparatively large surface. The apparatus is constructed of tinned copper and filled with water, which is heated by means of a blue flame stove placed underneath. The correct temperature of the heated honey is ascertained by means of a thermometer, over the bulb of which the honey runs before entering the tank, and regulated by the raising or lowering of the flame of the stove.
## 7 Liquiding Candied Honey.
When honey has candidied solidly, it cannot be liquified hurriedly; from eight to ten hours will be required at a temperature of 165 degrees in a hot water bath for honey set hard in 60-lb. tins.
To compensate for the slowness of this process, the heating of the water bath should be so arranged that the correct temperature is maintained automatically. This is best accomplished by using the blue flame stove illustrated in the previous chapter. When large quantities of candidied honey have to be liquified, provision should be made for heating a number of tins simultaneously in a bath holding from twelve to sixteen 60-lb. tins. If such a bath is constructed specially for the purpose, the dimensions should be such that there is a space of \(\frac{1}{2}\) to 1 inch between the tins. These should rest on strips of wood at least \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch thick, so as to prevent contact between the bottom of the tins and the bottom of the bath, and to allow the water to circulate all round the tins. The bottom half of a square 400-gallon water tank which has been cut in two horizontally is used by some bee-keepers for heating honey. Battens are laid across the bottom for the honey tinsto rest upon. The tank is placed over a small excavation, or on a few bricks, so that a small fire can be lighted under it. It is filled with water to near the top of the honey tins, of which it holds sixteen.
When a specially made bath is used, it is best to use hot water circulation instead of a fire underneath. The bath may consist of a stout wooden case of the desired dimensions, lined with galvanized iron and connected by means of two pipes with a boiler made of an oil drum or a copper closed with a dome. The boiler or copper is set in the fireplace, while the bath may be some little distance away on the floor of the honey room, and thus the heating of the honey may be done indoors at any time, and with a minimum of shifting about of the heavy honey tins.