Honey for extracting should not be removed until it is well ripened and a large percentage of it capped. It is best, however, to remove the crop from each honey flow before another heavy producing plant comes into bloom, so that the different grades of honey may be kept separate. It is better to extract while honey is still coming in, so that the bees will not be apt to rob. The extracting should be done in a building, preferably one provided with wire-cloth at the windows (p. 9). [Illustration: Fig. 22.--Honey extractor.] The frames containing honey to be extracted are removed from the hive, the cappings cut off with a sharp, warm knife (fig. 21) made specially for this purpose, and the frames are then put into the baskets of the honey extractor (fig. 22) . By revolving these rapidly the honey is thrown out of one side. The basket is then reversed and the honey from the other side is removed. The combs can then be returned to the bees to be refilled, or if the honey flow is over, they can be returned to the bees to be cleaned and then removed and stored until needed again. This method is much to be preferred to mashing the comb and straining out the honey, as was formerly done. In large apiaries special boxes to receive cappings, capping melters to render the cappings directly into wax, and power-driven extractors are often used. These will be found listed in supply catalogues. The extracted honey is then strained and run into vessels. It is advisable not to put it in bottles at once, but to let it settle in open vessels for a time, so that it can be skimmed. Most honeys will granulate and become quite hard if exposed to changes of temperature, and to liquefy granulated extracted honey it should be heated in a water bath. Never heat honey directly over a stove or flame, as the flavor is thereby injured. The honey should never be heated higher than 160° F. unless it is necessary to sterilize it because of contamination by disease. Extracted honey is put up in bottles or small tin cans for the retail trade, and in 5-gallon square tin cans or barrels for the wholesale market. Great care must be exercised if barrels are used, as honey will absorb moisture from the wood, if any is present, and cause leakage. The tin package is much to be preferred in most cases. In bottling honey for retail trade, it will well repay the bee keeper or bottler to go to considerable expense and trouble to make an attractive package, as the increased price received will more than compensate for the increased labor and expense. Honey should be heated to 160° F. and kept there for a time before bottling, and the bottle should be filled as full as possible and sealed hermetically.