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FROM THl'^IELDbF EXPERIEI^^E"-!, ..,.-,., „ 



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CONVERSATIONS with DOOLITTLE 



How Best to Store the Honey and Combs After 

 the Harvest 



"Please tell us in your (lepartnient of 

 (i leanings soni«^thing about storing honey 

 and eonibs when they are off the hives. 

 1 have been keei)ing bees but a few years 

 and want to fix more perniaiKMitly foi- the 

 1'utui'e. ' ' 



A good crop of honey may be greatly in- 

 jured by the treatment it receives when 

 taken off the hives, and while awaiting 

 sliii)nient. On the other hand the treatment 

 may be such that the honey greatly im- 

 proves. 



For a honey-room, the first thing neces- 

 sary to know is that there is a good foun- 

 dation under that part selected for the 

 room, and sleepers of suitable strength, so 

 that should we happen to place several 

 tons therein, there will be no danger of 

 l)ieaking down. 



Knowing this, the next thing is to make 

 the room mouse-proof. This I would have, 

 let it cost what it would, even if I had to 

 line every inch of it with tin, for the filth 

 from vermin about honey is not to be toler- 

 ated at all. Having the room mouse-proof, 

 all that is necessary afterward is to be sure 

 the door is kept shut when not in use. 



It is better to locate this room in the 

 southwest corner of the building, and paint 

 the two outside walls, which come next to it, 

 black, or some very dark color, so that the 

 lays of the midday and afternoon sun may 

 be so absorbed as to heat the honey-room 

 as much as possible, as the hotter and drier 

 the honey can be kept when off the hives, 

 the better it will ripen and keep al^terward. 



There should be two windows in the room, 

 one on the south and one on the west side, 

 which are to be opened on warm, dry days, 

 so as to ventilate thoroly the room and pile 

 of honey. Over these windows, on the out- 

 side, is to be placed wire cloth, so the win- 

 dows can be left open at pleasure, without 

 any fear from robber-bees. To let the 

 bees out, which may chance to come in on 

 the honey or in any other way, let this 

 wire cloth run eight or ten inches above the 

 tops of the windows, nailing on strips of 

 lath or other strips three-eighths thick, so 

 as to keep the wire cloth out that far from 

 the sides of the building, thus giving space 

 for the bees to crawl up on the cloth to the 

 top when they are on the outside. With me, 

 no robber-bees ever think of trying to get in 

 at this entrance, their efforts being directed 

 toward the open window where the fresh 

 scent of the honey comes, and, by so fixing, 

 the room is kept clear of bees, flies, an(l 

 insects all tlie while.* In hanging the door. 



do not make the mistake that some do, of 

 having it swing into the honey-room, for, if 

 you do you will regret it some year when 

 you have a bountiful crop of honey, as it 

 will be greatly in the way at such times, 

 and more or less at all times. Let it swing 

 out into the main building, and hang it so 

 that when you wish, it will swing clear 

 around against the side of the room, tluis 

 being entirely out of the way. 



On either side of the room fix a jilatform 

 for the supers of honey, which should be at 

 least six inches above the floor. The plat- 

 form should be built nearly as solid as the 

 floor has been, and sh'oukl be so arranged 

 that the air can circulate up between and 

 around each super and the combs that are 

 therein. Each super should be separated 

 from its neighbor an inch or so at the bot- 

 tom, top, and all around, so that the air can 

 circulate all thru and about the honey, thus 

 curing and ripening it thoroly. Very many 

 fail here, and, after working hard to pro- 

 duce a crop, they let it deteriorate from one 

 to three cents a pound in not properly car- 

 ing for it after taking it from the hives. 

 And not only that, but such poor honey, 

 generally bought cheaply, injures the mar- 

 ket to quite an extent for others. When 

 fixing it, it costs little more to have it so 

 your crop is always growing better, instead 

 of becoming of less value, and after once 

 fixed, the labor required for universally 

 sending off a good article is not so great as 

 it is to fix u}) that which has partly spoiled 

 after its production. Then you wish your 

 honey stored and piled as above, so that the 

 fumes of burning sulphur, or something of a 

 similar nature, can penetrate the wdiole pile, 

 should it be necessary to fumigate on ac- 

 count of the larvae of the wax moth being 

 liable to injure it. Don't be afraid of a lit- 

 tle extra work or expense in fitting up this 

 room, for on it hangs as much of your suc- 

 cess as the producer of fine honey as on any 

 part of the pursuit. 



And now about the room or closet for all 

 frames of comb not in use or occupied by the 

 bees. In some convenient place in your 

 building, next to one side thereof, spike on 

 2x4 scantling, just as far apart as the top 

 bars of your frame are long, using as many 

 of these as you think you may ever have use 

 for. Now nail strips of stuff 21/2 feet long 

 by five inches wide to these scantlings, let- 

 ting them stand out into the room in a hori- 

 zontal position. Let the distance between 

 eacli strii) from toj) to top be two inches 

 greater than the dei)th of your frame, so as 

 to give sufficient room to manipulate the 



•*The door of the room should he on the side near- 

 est the genej'al entrance to the building so as to 

 save as iimch travel and luKsrins as pos.sible. 



