142 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



most invariably, with nice worker comb, 

 and fully occupied by the queen. At the 

 close of the season these shallow brood 

 chambers would contain scarcely any 

 honey. Then we practiced placing them 

 on top of the parent hive beside them, 

 which, in the meantime, had been well 

 filled with stores and would have a young- 

 queen. 



Before the bees were put into winter 

 quarters, we would takeaway the empty 

 shallow combs and put them by to be 

 used as extracting combs the coming sea- 

 son. In this way, while running a part of 

 the yard for comb honey, we secured a 

 good many combs. 



When we want them, built in a yard 

 run entirely for extracted hjney, we fill 

 the frames with foundation and hang 

 them in the extracting supers, alternating 

 them with combs already built. Wires 

 are not necessary, and the combs can be 

 nicely attached to bottom bars by insert- 

 ing strips of comb when extracting. 



WHY WE LIKE THESE SHALLOW COMBS. 



We use a good many of these shallow 

 combs, but our super is seven inches deep 

 over all. We want more of these combs, 

 they are better for the production of ex- 

 tracted honey than the full depth L 

 frame. That is, they are an aid to get- 

 ting the best quality of honey, for this 

 reason: They make it easier to avoid 

 throwing out some unripe honey along 

 with the ripe. Place a set of deep frames 

 on a hive, and the bees will keep a strip 

 of cells open along the bottom for the 

 purpose of placing in them, green nectar. 

 If you extract these combs, some of this 

 unripe honey will be mixed with the ripe. 



which is a detriment more or less pro- 

 nounced. If in the place of one deep su- 

 per you had used two shallow ones, the 

 upper one would be filled entirely with 

 ripe honey and the unripe would all be in 

 the lower one. There are times, of 

 course, when the full depth combs would 

 do just as well, but at these times two 

 shallow supers are always as good as 

 one deep one. 



You will understand that we do not use 

 the shallow combs exclusively, but we 

 have thought many times that we would 

 like to try using all shallow combs for ex- 

 tracting. We would also like to try run- 

 ning a yard in which brood chambers and 

 supers were seven inches deep outside 

 measure. Two or more of these would 

 make a good brood chamber for building 

 up in the spring, and one or two would do 

 for wintering, according to the size of the 

 colony. An ideal condition for wintering 

 is secured by having one shallow super 

 with very little honey in it, and one with 

 solid combs of ripe stores; the latter to 

 be placed on top. Our shallow frames 

 are made in the ordinary hanging style, 

 and probably they give as good satisfac- 

 tion as any. We are an advocate of hav- 

 ing an abundance of combs, and tiering 

 up. We don't see how the best honey 

 can be produced in a yard provided with 

 only one set of extracting combs for each 

 working hive. Some of us who use plen- 

 ty of combs, and extract only ripe, sealed 

 honey, are building up a reputation for 

 our product, which the other fellows are 

 helping to tear down by selling honey that 

 has a mixture of green nectar in it. 



Bridgeport, Wis., Jan. 1, 1911 



Some Successful Experience with the Doolittle Plan 



of Comb Honey Production. 



Wm. kernan 



OURING the spring of 1906 the Doolittle plan of placing a hive bady con- 

 honey flow from fruit bloom was taining empty combs on any colony we 

 very good in this vicinity. I had wish to run for comb honey and when 

 at that time a good chance to try the the honey flow is fairly started, shaking 



