COMB HOXEY. 



115 



COMB HOXEY. 



By far the most satisfactory arrange- 

 ment for getting bees out of supers is the 

 regular Porter bee-escape. This is mounted 

 on a board, cleated at the ends and sides, in 

 such a way as to provide a bee-space on one 

 side, so that it can be placed between the su- 

 pers and the brood-nest beneath. But care 

 should be taken that it be placed right side 



up — that is. the side up as shown in the il- 

 lustration. If the device be put on toward 

 night, or, better, along in the afternoon, by 

 the next morning practically aUthe bees will 

 be out of the super and in the brood-ne.'t 

 below ; or in some cases will have gone frou 

 the finished super into one partly finished. 



ing, prevents angering the bees, and saves 

 killing them. 



The best time to put on Porter escapes is 

 at night. If thirty or forty of them are put 

 on, the next morning about nine o'clock 

 there will be about thirty or forty supers 

 ready to come off, with hardly a bee in 

 them. If there are three or fom: bees left, 

 or say a dozen, they will usually take wing 

 as soon as the super is uncovered. If not, 

 one or two whiffs of smoke, and a shaking, 

 will di.slodge them. 



SCRAPIXG SECTION'S. 



In order to make sections present a clean 

 marketable appearance, all propolis should 

 be scraped off. Some prefer, for this pur- 

 pose, a case-knife: others, an ordinary sharjj 

 jack-knife. But whatever implement you 

 use. sci;:!**" the sections nice and clean. Be 

 careful not to gash into the honey. Before 

 you commence the opf ration you had better 

 put on some old chill. »-s. bfcauf-e the parti- 



METHOD OF I5sEKTl>'-r IHi. ESCAPE-BOAKD. 



Our method of putting on one of these es- 

 cape-lx)ards is as follows : AVith a screw- 

 driver, putty-knife, or pry. locsen the super 

 so that propolis connections will be severed 

 or broken. Xow with one hand tilt up the 

 super at one end enough to make a gap. and 

 with the other hand take the smoker and 

 blow in two or three whiffs of smoke to 

 drive the bees back. 



Xext lift the same end of the super up a 

 little further so that it will stand at an 

 angle of about 45 degrees. With the free 

 hand set down the smoker and pick up the 

 escape-board, which should be leaning con- 

 veniently against your person. Slide this 

 on top of the hive as far as it wiU gc 

 bee-space side up. Let the super down 

 on the e.scape-board gently, and. last of all. 

 biing the escai>e-lKjard and super so they 

 will align with the hive. 



You will find this method avoids hard lift- ; 



cles of propolis wiU be almost sure to ruin 

 go: id ones. 



BOOMHOAVEII SECTIOX-SCKAPIXG TABLE. 



Mr. Frank Boomhower, of Gallupville. 

 X, 1'., has a section- scraping table like the 

 one shown herewith. As will be seen. 



SECTI02f-SCBAPrSfG TABLE. 



