CHAPTER XVIII.
COMB FOUNDATION AND HONEY EXTRACTORS.
COMB foundation, or artificial comb is one of the greatest inventions of modern times. By its use the production of honey is greatly increased. To obtain the most satisfactory results from the use of comb foundation, we must use that which is manufactured from pure bees-wax. There is much foundation offered to bee-keepers that is wholly unfit for use, the material used in its manufacture being tallow which is very much disliked by the bees.
Twenty-five years ago it was thought impossible to successfully imitate the bee in the construction of honey comb, but invention has triumphed in this, as in many other improvements deemed impossible. We now have honey comb manufactured by skillful workmen, so closely resembling that made by bees, that it seems the bees cannot detect any difference. I have always studied to give my bees every possible advantage, and I find that comb foundation, used in conjunction with my system of feeding, secures very large yields of surplus honey—much greater than I could otherwise secure. I also find comb foundation of great importance in furnishing encouragement to the bees when placed in the brood section of the Controllable Hive. The bees work with greater vigor; besides, with comb foundation we can secure all straight comb. I can confidently recommend the use of comb foundation. It will give perfect satisfaction. Use none but the very best. That with flat bottom cells, and high, sharp side walls, measuring about ten or twelve square feet to the pound, is best for surplus boxes. That for brood frames should measure from six to eight square feet to the pound.
HONEY EXTRACTORS.
In the first edition of this work, I said nothing about honey extractors, for the reason that I could say no good of them at that time; and thought perhaps time might show that they could be used with profit by the bee-keeper. I find, after a careful study of the uses of the honey extractor, that it cannot be used to advantage and profit by the great majority of bee-keepers, myself among the number.
I am sorry to say this, for I shall tread heavily on the corns of some one who have money invested in the manufacture of extractors, and such will be ready to consign me to everlasting punishment, for not recommending the use of honey extractors; but I propose to give an honest, unprejudiced opinion, based upon facts as they have come under my own observation, and time and experience will prove whether I am correct or otherwise. And right here I will venture the prediction, that in less than twenty years it will be impossible to find a honey extractor, as now used. As they are a hindrance to profitable and successful bee culture, they must ere long give way in the light of reason and progress, as their faults and pernicious effects become better known.
I will give some of the most prominent objections to the use of the honey extractor. I shall not attempt to enumerate all, as it would take more space than I can devote to the subject:
First, the use of the extractor renders the bees cross and irritable to the greatest possible degree. And is it any wonder? The use of the extractor requires that the bees be shaken and brushed from the combs, every two or three days throughout the honey season. Any one who is acquainted with the nature and habits of bees, knows that such a course would in a short time render them so furious that it would be dangerous to go among them. My bees are kind and never sting me voluntarily; but were I to abuse them thus, they would soon decide that I was their enemy, and would sting me to death at the first opportunity. And who would blame them? Certainly not the dealers in honey extractors, patent bee hives and the like. I don't want to shake and brush my bees out of their combs, every two or three days through June and July, for the sake of obtaining two or three hundred pounds of extracted honey, which everybody will call a counterfeit as soon as it is put in the market; and which at best will not bring over twenty or thirty dollars; when I can just as well, and with much less trouble, have the same honey in combs in nice boxes, that every one will know is just what it purports to be, and which will sell readily for seventy dollars or more. In removing the combs for extraction, great care is required, or the queen will be lost, the brood damaged, combs broken in handling, and robbing incited. It is an established fact in bee keeping, that if bees are frequently disturbed in the honey season, they will work but little, but will remain idle about the hive, to protect themselves, rather than fly abroad to collect honey; and if this one point is admitted, it ought to be sufficient to drive the honey extractor out of use.
I am aware that we have very large yields of extracted honey reported, but let us accept such reports with caution, remembering that extracted honey is easily counterfeited, and dishonesty is abroad in the land.
Now, if the objections which I offer to the use of the extractor are real (and I maintain that they are, together with many others not mentioned,) are they not sufficient to banish the extractor from the apiary of every one who wishes to keep bees for pleasure and profit.
But to go a little farther and compare prices—for the past two or three years, extracted honey has sold for six, eight and ten cents per pound, rarely for twelve; and slow, hard sale all the way along; while comb honey in nice boxes (such as are used in the Controllable Hive) has sold readily for from twenty-five to thirty-five cents per pound, and frequently as high as forty cents. Some may not see clearly why there is this difference in price. It is expressed in one word: counterfeit. Extracted honey can be easily counterfeited; comb honey cannot. There is much in the market bearing the name of extracted honey, not one drop of which is the product of bees. I have frequently seen this counterfeit in the market, nicely sealed up in the glass tumblers and labelled "Pure Honey," and to make the deception complete, a small piece of honey comb, about an inch square, was seen in each tumbler. No doubt the comb was empty when it was put in; but it seemed to delude many into the belief that the article was pure honey, when not one drop was ever produced by bees.
My advice to bee-keepers is, don't use an extractor, but place your honey in the market in nice boxes, such as are used with the Controllable Hive; and my word for it, results will please you.