COMB HONEY. 



112 



COMB HONEY. 



COMB HONEY IN 4i SQUARE PLAIN SECTIONS. 



iiis lionov would srade extra fancy according to the Eastern grading- given further on The combs 

 in such cases will not b", capped over next to the wood like this in most cases. 



his is that the center sections will be lilled 

 11 advance of tiie outside ones; and by the 

 inie these latter are tilled, all the former 

 kill be travel-staiueil, and may induce 

 warming in the meantime. 



When Mr. Townsend first began this 

 cheme of comb and extracted honey pro- 

 iuction from the same super he had in mind 

 nly baiting the bees up into the sections; 

 lut he incidentally discovered that, inas- 

 iiuch as the bees would enter such supers 

 nthout hesitation, he thereby almost 

 ntirely overcame swarming. 



Comb-lioney producers all know that the 

 rdinary section-super placed on a hive is 

 ery often not entered readily by the bees, 

 .'he series of little compartments (the sec- 

 ions) cause the bees to sulk, and before 

 hey actually enter the super they may 

 warm in disgust. 



It is well known also that, after bees are 

 uce started going above, there is less incli- 

 lation on their part to swarm. Mr. Town- 

 end finds that the two side extracting- 

 ombs that he puts in every comb-super 

 tart the bees into the super about as readily 

 s they would if containing extracting- 

 (mibs only. The whole effect of this pro- 

 edure is such that swarming is reduced to 



minimum— almost brought under control. 



For the local markets, the side extracting- 

 ombs can be cut out and sold for chunk 

 loney at about the same price as that in the 

 ections; so that there need be practically 

 10 loss; or when there is a call for liquid 

 oney it can be extracted. 



The Danzenbaker super, already describ- 

 d. witli its 4x.5 sections, section-holders, 

 nd Danzenbaker frames, is the best suited 

 o carry out the Townsend plan. 



Even tlie shallower supers using 4ix4i 

 ections can be similarly arranged. 



WHAT TO DO WHEN BEES REFUSE TO ENTER 

 THE SECTIONS. 



At times bees will show a disposition to 

 loaf, and consequently a disinclination to go 

 into the sections. They will hang out in 

 great bunches around the entrance, while 

 the surplus-apartment is left almost entirely 

 vacant, to say nothing of foimdation not be- 

 ing drawn out. This condition may be whol- 

 ly due to the backwardness of the season. 

 During those years (wiiich are not frequent) 

 when the bees have not yet filled their brood- 

 combs after the honey season is nearly over, 

 and, as the days progress, make little if a-ny 

 increase in the quantity of honey, we can 

 not expect the bees to go above until all the 

 available cell room below has been filled, as a 

 rule. When this is crammed full, and tliere 

 is a rush of nectar, they will commence work 

 in the sections. We will suppose you have a 

 fair average season, and some colonies are 

 storing honey in the supers, and others are 

 not. In the latter, the trouble is clearly 

 with the hive or with the bees. Some bees are 

 much slower in going above than others. If 

 honey is coming in freely, they can be bait- 

 ed, usually, by placing a i)artly filled sec- 

 tion or two, of the year previous, in the cen- 

 ter of the super. Or, better, give them a 

 shallow extracting-super a la Barber; or, 

 perhaps better still, give them a super of 

 sections and a pair of extracting-combs as 

 advised by Townsend. If none of these 

 methods work go to a hive where the bees 

 are already working in sections, if you can 

 have access to such a one, and remove sec- 

 tions, bees and all, that are actually at 

 work drawing out the comb, and place them 

 on the hive that won't go in the supers. 

 This will start any hive at work in the sec- 

 tions that contain Itees enough to go above. 

 The sections should contain full sheets of 



