THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



47 



innrketable, is usually whut delays us in get- 

 tiusr off the eouili houey supers. 



We believe our luve ami system is the best 

 extrtut, not only for the prt^mpt drawinj^ of 

 fouuditiou iu seutious, but likewise, the 

 prouipt and complete cappiiij,' of the same, 

 but .ve still feel sure we can raise more ex- 

 tracted honey thau corub, and doit with less 

 labor, for It is also true that the labor for 

 the bee ina-;ter, is luucli lessened by the use 

 of the shallow, close-tittint: frames, in lit^ht 

 oases, properly handled, in the production 

 of ripe, tiue-tlavored extracted honey. " 



I ara with Mr. Heddou iu thinking that 

 the place in which foundation will eventu- 

 ally be d awn out for comb honey is in the 

 sections themselves. Remember that I 

 have made no experiments in this direction, 

 I am siuiply tellin? what I think. The sav- 

 ing of labor iu this direction will be great. 

 and that ragged appearance that friend 

 Baldridge spoke of in last Review, that re- 

 sdUs if the combs are drawn too far and put 

 into the sections, will be entirely avoided. 

 I don't know whether the plan of having 

 foundation drawn in the sections has been 

 tried or not. Of course, I know that 

 partly finished sections have been saved 

 over from the previous year, but 

 whether there has been any attempt to 

 have foundation drawn out in the sections to 

 be used " right away soon, " I don't know ; 

 but whether there has or not, I am willing 

 to risk the matter with the inventive genius 

 of our bee-keepers to discover some plan 

 whereby it can be thus drawn out. 



I am well-aware that more and cheaper 

 extracted honey can be produced by the plan 

 followed by Mr. Heddon, that of securing 

 its ripening without its bei ig fully sealed, 

 and it is possible that more extracted honey 

 can be produced in that manner, but if the 

 extracted tioney is to be all sealed 1 believe 

 that just as much comb honey can be pro- 

 duced if drawn combs are furnished. If 

 not, why not ? 



Regarding my experience with drawn 

 combs. I have for years saved the half- 

 finished sections from the previous year, 

 and used them in the spring to give the bees 

 a start in the supers. I have never had 

 enough to give a case to each colony ; if I 

 had enough to give half of the colonies 

 these half-drawn combs I did well. In this 

 way I have had ample opportunity to note 

 the value of drawn combs in this particular 

 place. I have this to say. As a rule, a col- 

 ony given a case of drawn combs will fill 

 those combs with honey and have thtm 



sealed and ready to come off and will have 

 commenced work in the case of sections 

 furnished with foundation that has been 

 placed baneath the case of drawn combs, by 

 the time that a similar colony will have 

 commenced work in a case of sections sim- 

 ply furnished with foundation. In my ex- 

 perience, a case of drawn combs in the 

 spring is as valuable as a case of finished 

 sections, as it enables me to get one more 

 case of honey from that colony, nay, more — 

 the giving of these combs relieves the pres- 

 sure upon the brood nest and results in the 

 brood combs being more perfectly filled 

 with brood at a time when more brood 

 means more workers in the bass-wood har- 

 vest. 



The Production of Comb vs. Extracted 

 Honey. 



It is the general belief that twice as much 

 extracted as comb honey can be produced. 

 Before settling down to this belief it would 

 be well to consider the views and experi- 

 ence of R. C. Aikin as given in the follow- 

 ing article taken from the American Bee 

 Journal. 



"The question of how much more ex- 

 tracted than comb honey can be produced, 

 remains unsettled. We have for years been 

 taught, and have generally accepted as 

 true, tliat two pounds of extracted can be 

 produced where but one of comb can be. 

 I have not believed this statement, and do 

 not yet think it proven. Many good apia- 

 rists — who would not knowingly represent an 

 untruth — have asserted that they can get 

 double, and even more, of extracted over 

 that of comb. In order to show that there 

 are some mistakes made iu the estimates, 

 and to stimulate those so inclined to make 

 more definite experiments, I write this 

 article. 



It is now over 20 years that I have been 

 producing honey. I think, without excep- 

 tion, there has not been a year that I have 

 not produced both comb and extracted, and 

 in the same apiary. Without any very 

 close estimates I had always thought I 

 could get from 3 of comb to 4 of extracted, 

 to 2 of the former to 3 of the latter. The 

 last few years, however, I have put the ra- 

 tio 3 to 4 as more nearly correct though 

 this ratio would not apply at all times and 

 in all localities, but in a series of years in 

 most locations it would be more nearly 

 right than the higher ratio. 



It has ahcrnjs been my practice to keep 

 siron'j colonies for lioneu-gathering, the 

 strength bfing maiiitiined by discouraging 

 or preventing swarming, and bydonbling. 



The general factors governing in the 

 matter are strength of colony, rapidity of 

 flow and temperature. 



