32 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



the fall of the year, they must be wintered well, and every hive should have 

 plenty of stores so the bees in the spring need never curtail brood rearing on 

 account of shortage of stores. All that applies to the building up of colonies in 

 the spring applies to the successful production of comb honey. 



I take issue with the statement that bees can get strong too early ; such a 

 condition never was and never will be ; the opposite, too weak colonies at the 

 honey flow, alas ! is too nearly the rule, and reduces the number of pounds of 

 honey we get per colony. If a colony gets crowded in the lower story, and the 

 time has not arrived when sections should be put on, I place an extracting super 

 with d queen excluder (or without, as I see fit), and at the proper time replace 

 this with comb honey supers. With extracting supers on the hive there is, at 

 this season, practically no excuse for swarming. All hives should be placed on 

 secure stands and in every case a spirit level used. There is no serious- 

 objection to the hive leaning forward a trifle, sufficient to shed rain, but side- 

 ways they must be perfectly level. The greatest cleanliness should be observed,, 

 bottom boards, hives and top bars scraped and only such Old stock as have 

 bright, clean combs, run for comb honey. Full sheets of foundation should be 

 used in the right sections and the foundation as light as possible and of the best 

 wax. I prefer wax made from cappings and taken by the solar wax extractor 

 for this purpose, but in this matter the supply dealer is at the mercy of the 

 bee-keeper and it rests with the latter what kind of wax shall be used. When I 

 make the statement that light foundation should be used I am at variance with 

 some leading comb honey men, but while it is a fact, that the bees will thin 

 down the foundation, there are seasons and times when they will not do this,. 

 aqd against this we must guard in order to avoid making the article unpopular. 

 I used a bait (one of last years sections) in the supers. I have also tried supers 

 without but can find no great difl"erence. Swarming is an important factor in 

 the production of comb honey, and the longer one works for this the more 

 confident one must feel that no one who wishes to make comb honey to perfec- 

 tion will ever care for any device to prevent swarming entirely. 



(To be continued.) 



