1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



741 



and the bees began to be crowded out. Hop- 

 ing that the weather might be good for some 

 time, I spread the sections on a few hives by 

 placing some empty ones between those nearly 

 full, giving at most only about 40 pounds ca- 

 pacity, while, when all is favorable, I use 60. 

 The result was, that the bees immediately 

 took possession of the empty sections, while 

 the weather turned unfavorable again; and 

 when the season was over I got no more than 

 five to ten pounds of capped honey from these 

 hives, while those not touched gave twenty 

 pounds of nice capped honey. In this case the 

 bad weather was the cause, for the spreading 

 was not carried far enough to be unreasonable; 

 but in former years I have been the cause of 

 the trouble by spreading or tiering up but a 

 few days before the honey-harvest closed. 



Again, after the basswood bloom had fallen 

 there came on a very hot spell when not a bit 

 of honey was to be obtained; and the result 

 was, that the fronts of the hives were black 

 with bees. According to the advice above 

 alluded to, I should have given more room; 

 and if the bees then persisted in clustering out 

 I should smoke each colony until they all went 

 in and stayed there. Any one can see at a 

 glance that this would be just a waste of time, 

 as the bees were doing just as well for me by 

 clustering on the outside of the hive as any- 

 where. But. to return: 



My plan of operation to secure all capped 

 sections at the close of the honey-harvest is as 

 follows: When the bees show, by building bits 

 of comb here and there about the hive, that 

 they are securing honey from the fields, I put 

 on sections to the amount of about 20 pounds, 

 and leave them thus till the bees are well at 

 work in them, when I add about 10 pounds 

 more room by placing it at the sides of those 

 first given them. When this room is fu y oc- 

 cupied, I give more room at the sides to about 

 the same amount given before: and were I 

 using the tiering-up plan, I should have my 

 surplus-arrangements so arranged that, at this 

 time, I could raise up about one-half of the 

 sections already on, putting empty sections 

 underneath them, instead of raising up the 

 whole 30 pounds, thus giving them more room, 

 a little at a time, as the bees have need. By 

 the time the bees fully occupy the room last 

 given at the sides, the first 20 pounds given 

 them is ready to come ofl'; and when this is 

 taken off, the partly filled sections on either 

 side are drawn together over the center of the 

 brood -nest, and empty sections given at the 

 sides again to the amount which T think they 

 will need. Thus I keep taking off and putting 

 on sections, taking the full ones from the mid- 

 dle, and putting the empty sections at the 

 sides until the season begins to draw toward 

 its close, when, as fast as full ones are taken 

 from the center, the others are drawn up till 



the space is contracted to the original 20- pound 

 capacity, or even less if I think it necessary. 

 In this way the bees are given all the space 

 they really need, while the chance for many 

 uncapped sections in the fall is quite small. 

 By a little study the tiering up plan can be 

 made to conform to the at)0ve, and worked on 

 the same principle. I think that any plan 

 which requires the tiering-up of from 30 to 40 

 pounds capacity, or the spreading-out of the 

 same number of pounds at one time, is faulty, 

 and a wrong policy to adopt, while the giving 

 of a medium amount of surplus room as needed 

 seems to me to be a wise course to pursue. 



HOW AND WHERE TO KEEP COMB AND EX- 

 TRACTED HONEY. 



Ed. Oleanimj s :^Gsin you inform us. or some 

 of your readers through the columns of Glean- 

 ings, the temperature that extracted honey can 

 be raised to with safety so it will not regranu- 

 late again? also the proper temperature for 

 keeping comb honey. 



We notice that the sale and consumption of 

 honey in comb is greatly reduced by honey be- 

 ing held in fluctuating and cold temperature; 

 whereas, if kept in an even high temperature it 

 would not chill nor granulate, and become pre- 

 mature old honey to all appearances. 



We have spacious rooms that we use for cold 

 storage of butter and eggs in the summer, and 

 are now emptying them and contemplate heat- 

 ing those rooms to the proper temperature for 

 comb honey. These rooms are so protected 

 that they can hold any temperature, so they 

 will not vary five degrees in six months. 



We believe that will be a great benefit to the 

 honey placed in our hands for sale, especially 

 for such as comes to us before cold weather. 

 We think one reason why honey sells best, and 

 gives best satisfaction in the early part of the 

 Season, is because, in the later part of the sea- 

 son, it has been exposed to extreme changes in 

 temperature, and it stiffens or granulates in 

 the comb, and the consumer, buying such once, 

 doesn't want it again. We do not know of a 

 honey-dealer who keeps honey in a warm room, 

 but generally in an open store, where the doors 

 are not closed in many places in the coldest 

 winter weather. We know of two hundred 

 cases of honey that was carried over winter in 

 that way, and is now unsalable except for bee- 

 food. The holders say it came to them Decem- 

 ber last, and was granulated then, and would 

 not soil. I should like to hear opinions on the 

 practicability of furnishing an even high 

 temperature for honey; and I think that, if 



