221 



not more than from four to six dozen should he put into one package, 

 preferably the smaller quantity. Procure a strong wooden box, bore 

 two holes in each end, about one-third down, and knot firmly into 

 them rope handles, by which the box can be safely and easily lifted; 

 put into the bottom of the box a bed of coarse bay, and on this place, 

 •quite close together, a layer of the wrapped-up packages of sections, 

 leaving at least two inches between the sides of the box and the sec- 

 tions : this space must be filled with hay. tightly pressed in, and. to 

 prevent possible damage to the comb, the ends of the packages may be 

 protected by pieces of straw-board or thin wood. Continue with 

 layers of packages, filling in round the sides as before, until within 

 two inches of the top, then fill up tightly with hay and screw on the 

 lid. Label the package plainly : " Comb-honey, With Care." Re- 

 tailers of honey-comb prefer to have the sections sent to them glazed, 

 the comb being then preserved from injury by careless handling, and 

 what is still more important, kept free from the dusty impurities 

 unavoidably present in shops. 



Glazing the Sections. 



For glazing sections, glass cut to the correct size may be pur- 

 chased of any dealer in bee appliances, together with the strips of 

 paper lace edging, which, when pasted round the angle formed by the 

 glass and wood, serve to fix the glass on. In country towns the 

 local glazier will gladly cut up waste glass to the small size (viz., 4.^ 

 in. by 4 T 3 g- in.) required, while neatly printed bands of coloured paper, 

 19 in. by 3 in., can be used instead of the lace edging. These bands 

 cost about 7s. per 1,000. They are more easily pasted on than the 

 paper lace edging, and make much firmer and neater work, while 

 they also give an opportunity of placing the names of the apiary and 

 retailer on each section. Neat card-board cases plain or glazed on one 

 or both sides, and glazed tin boxes, are provided by appliance dealers 

 for those who have but a small number of sections to deal with ; where 

 larger quantities are handled, the printed band holding on the two 

 squares of glass will be found the best and most economical. 



Extracting Honey. 



The modern method of obtaining " extracted " or " run " 

 honey has greatly improved its quality, and the use of the 

 centrifugal extractor eompels the abandonment of the skep sys- 

 tem of bee-keeping, with its waste of bee life, waste of combs, and 

 taint of sulphur ; it also necessitates the adoption of the frame hive, 

 which enables the gathered surplus to be stored in frames apart from 

 the brood-nest and removable at will by the bee-keeper. 



Honey improves in flavour and density while ripening in the hive, 

 therefore the super-frames should not be removed until they are well 

 sealed over. 



Fermentation is the great enemy of extracted honey, but it can 

 only effect badly ripened honey or honey exposed to moisture and 

 warmth ; so, should it be necessary to extract unripe honey, it should 

 be returned to the bees for .re-storing and ripening. Extraction is 

 done by means of a machine consisting of a a tinned-iron can. within 

 which is a vertical spindle carrying a pair of cages to hold the frames of 

 honey-comb and made to revolve rapidly by means of a simple hand- 



