70 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



tracted. Fancy comb honey can be pro- 

 duced only when the season is right, the 

 honey flow right, and the colony right; 

 whereas, if we get a little honey only in 

 the extracting combs during the time 

 that conditions are unfavorable, it is al- 

 ways in marketable shape, and there is 

 no loss. 



But my theme is the production of ex- . 

 tracted honey, to which I must now re- 

 sort. I will tell how I would manage an 

 apiary in Langstroth or Dovetailed hives, 

 as those are the hives I use, and the 

 hives in general use. I will state, also, 

 that mine are eight-frame hives; as I wish 

 them that size when used for comb honey, 

 and I think by tiering up they can be 

 made large enough for extracting hives. 

 As soon as the bees are taken from their 

 winter quarters I would look carefully to 

 the needs of each colony,' with a view to 

 promote brood rearing and the getting 

 each one into good condition for work 

 when the honey harvest begins. 



As the season advanced I would give to 

 each colony strong enough to occupy it, 

 a second story of good worker combs. I 

 would watch to see that the queen occu- 

 pied both stories. I would change combs 

 from one to the other, if necessary, so as 

 to get brood in as many as possible. 

 Then, when the honey flow began, I 

 would put a queen excluding zinc on top 

 of this two-storj' brood-chamber; these 

 two stories being for the exclusive use of 

 the queen for the season. Over this I 

 would place a set of extracting combs. 

 As soon as this first set is pretty well 

 filled with honey, and capping has^com- 

 nienced, I would raise it up and put 

 another set of empty combs under it; thus 

 keeping the honey always at the top 

 where the ripening process can be com- 

 pleted without the necessity of having 

 each comb completely sealed; for it is a 

 well known fact that if a comb full of 

 honey remains on the hive a sufficient 

 length of time the honey will ripen, even 

 if not a single cell is capped over. Now, 

 whether I would continue the same pro- 

 cess by giving still another set of combs, 



making it a five story hive, would defend 

 on the colony and the condition of the 

 honey flow. It is not possible to give 

 each colony precisely the same treatment. 

 In tiering up one has great advantages in 

 respect to ripening, over the one who 

 uses a larger hive with only a single ex- 

 tracting super, no matter how many 

 combs it may contain. As soon as the 

 honey in the top-most story is ripe I 

 would take it off and extract at once; as 

 the honey will come out of the comb 

 more readily while still warm from the 

 hive. It is easy to determine whether hon- 

 ey is fit to extract or not. If it is the least 

 bit watery, the comb should be returned 

 to the hive, which I believe to be the best 

 place for ripening. I will here state that 

 there will be very little, if anj^ swarming 

 in an apiary run for extracted honey on 

 this plan; and hives so operated are the 

 only real non-swarming hives worth 

 having. 



Some may object to the great number 

 of extra combs required for so much tier- 

 ing-up, but I reply, if you have not the 

 combs to do this, then you are not prop- 

 erly equipped for the business. 



In the extracting-room I have the ex- 

 tractor and several other necessary arti- 

 cles. One is a large tin can with a syrup 

 gate at the bottom to strain into. Many 

 use a barrel with the head out for 

 this purpose; and it is all right, and some 

 •cheaper than the can. A large piece of 

 cheese cloth tied over the top of the can 

 is the best strainer I know of. Several 

 pieces should be kept on hand so as to 

 have a clean one ready to put on when 

 the one in use gets gummed up. 



Then conies the uncapping-box. Many 

 bee-keepers use a can for uncapping over 

 — such as supply dealers list at about |i7.oo 

 each. I can tell you how to make an ar- 

 rangment awa^^ ahead of that, for about 

 $1.50 for material, and a few minutes 

 work. Get the tinner to bend up a long 

 piece of galvanized sheet iron into the 

 shape of a round bottomed trough, eigh- 

 teen inches across the top, and about a 

 foot deep. Solder end pieces into it and 



