62 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



this greatly reduces the season of bloom. In ad- 

 dition to this there are many more bees in the 

 country. While these changes have been talcing 

 place, a demand for a finer honey has sprung up. 

 Sweet clover has also increased, practically chang- 

 ing the season of flow from June and July to Ju- 

 ly and August. The alfalfa rarely fails to give 

 some honey in June and July, perhaps just filling 

 the brood-chamber, making possible, sometimes, 

 work in the supers, but usually the flow during 

 June and July is slow and of such a nature that 

 the brood-chambers become badly clogged with 

 honey, and it takes the utmost care with strong 

 colonies to get any satisfactory work in comb- 

 honey supers, and at the same time the rearing of 

 brood is curtailed that should give the proper 

 force of bees for the sweet-clover flow, which is 

 the greatest from August 1st to the 20th. We 

 therefore have to scheme and strain every nerve 

 to get the supers finished which were started, per- 

 haps, in June and not completed before August. 

 When the flows are so slow and intermittent, the 

 apiarist has to be an expert to make a success of 

 comb-honey production under conditions when 

 the total yield does not average over two supers 

 per colony in the whole two months. Then with 

 all the other troubles the swarming problem has 

 to be met in comb-honey production. 



I like to produce comb honey for various rea- 

 sons, especially because it is quickly marketed, 

 and the quicker the honey is marketed the better; 

 but with these long slow flows, and after weeks 

 and weeks of vigilance and care, it is rather dis- 

 couraging to find great piles of sections either 

 not used at all or only partly filled. There seems 

 to be at all times sufficient wax secretion, and 

 bees enough to do the building of all the comb 

 necessary to receive the honey gathered. Under 

 these conditions I have for several years contem- 

 plated producing extracted honey; and not only 

 that, but to let each colony build new comb each 

 year, save one or two bait-combs to entice the 

 bees into the supers, and then make wax of all 

 surplus combs. 



THE COMPARATIVE COST OF COMB AND EXTRACT- 

 ED HONEY. 



It requires as a first outlay a little larger in- 

 vestment for the extracted-honey equipment; but 

 this equipment is permanent, and does not have 

 to be renewed every year. In comb-honey pro- 

 duction the work piles up all at once, and can 

 not be neglected. An extracting-super may be 

 left on the hive indefinitely, and it may be only 

 partially filled or clear full, while the comb-hon- 

 ey supers, on the other hand, must be carefully 

 looked after or there will be a great many unfin- 

 ished sections to melt in making the expensive 

 strained honey. 



I believe there is but little difference in remov- 

 ing the two kinds of honey. It costs about as 

 much to scrape and case comb honey as to ren- 

 der, extract, and pack extracted honey. The ex- 

 tracting-supers themselves are perhaps a little less 

 expensive than comb-honey supers; but both are 

 permanent investments, and nearly balance. 

 However, when I count the sections to be bought 

 for each crop as well as the foundation, etc., 

 there is a cost of at least one cent a pound on 

 comb honey that does not have to be figured on 

 extracted honey. Final packages for each ap- 

 proximate about the same value. 



There is more than this to consider, however. 

 Extracted honey should never be produced unless 

 it is largely capped, and the wax from the cap- 

 pings will just about pay for the expense of ex- 

 tracting. Several years ago I had some estimates 

 on this point, but have forgotten the details, as I 

 have so little to extract of late. Any way, the 

 amount of wax obtained varies, dependii-ig on 

 how much the combs are bulged and on the 

 amount of burr-combs. It must be remembered 

 that beeswax runs into money fast, and needs no 

 expensive packages, and is not nearly so perish- 

 able as honey. 



Now, suppose we melt three out of four ex- 

 tracting- combs, retaining the fourth for a bait- 

 comb. On the basis of 4 lbs. of wax to hold 

 100 lbs of honey, and with wax at 25 cts. per 

 lb., we have the proportion of 75 cents' worth of 

 wax to the 100 lbs. of honey. I think that ex- 

 tracted honey, and the cost of labor of producing, 

 and packages up to the time it is ready for ship- 

 ment, costs fully 2 cts. per lb. less than comb 

 honey. In addition to the cost, the management 

 necessary for extracted honey is easier, and less 

 skill is needed, and the honey when gathered is 

 less likely to be injured, can be kept indefinitely, 

 and may be shipped more safely. If so desired, 

 the extracting may be left to any convenient time 

 after the harvest is over. 



I have mentioned the fact that the first equip- 

 ment for extracted honey is greater than for comb, 

 but it is serviceable for years. With comb-hon- 

 ey production one must put money into sections 

 and foundation every year without knowing 

 whether there will be any use for them; but with 

 extracted-honey production there is no need of 

 spending a cent for cans, etc., until the honey is 

 actually in sight. Furthermore, because of the 

 greater ease in controlling swarming, and the less 

 amountof attention given to the details of manage- 

 ment during the season, one can handle a greater 

 number of extracted-honey colonies, and thereby 

 materially augment his gross earnings, at least in 

 the number of pounds produced. In localities 

 where honey does not candy rapidly, it is not nec- 

 essary to extract until some time during the late 

 fall or winter, thus giving the whole time to pro- 

 ducing through the summer, and leaving profit- 

 able work for the winter. 



I wish to call attention again to the fact that 

 wax is very valuable, and that much of it can be 

 produced when colonies are run for extracted 

 honey. Great quantities of wax are lost each sea- 

 son if the bees are not allowed to use it in build- 

 ing comb. The bees use it for other purposes if 

 there is no comb to build. When scraping sec- 

 tions I save the scrapings, which appear to be al- 

 most entirely propolis; but when melted they 

 yield considerable wax. Then I have many 

 times seen nice white wax used to fill cracks about 

 comb-honey supers; and when there are full sets 

 of combs already built to hold every drop of hon- 

 ey to be stored, I have found workers loaded 

 with wax scales, cracks stopped with wax, burr- 

 combs put hereand there without stint, and, when 

 not needed, bits of wax built against the quilts 

 over the top-bars, sometimes amounting to a 

 quarter or even half a pound — all this apparently 

 done just to get rid of the surplus wax by using 

 it where propolis would ordinarily be used. If 

 the colony clusters outside the hive the bees will 



