JUNE 15, 1913 



417 



the feeder, set your colony to one side, lay 

 •down one or two solid pieces of plank three 

 or four feet long; put on the feeders and 

 bottom-board where the hive stood; then 

 replace the hive of bees, first driving them 

 from the bottom of frames by smoking them 

 so as not to mash any bees when setting on 

 the end cleat of the bottom-board and parti- 

 tions in feeders. The hive should also be 

 blocked up ~/s inch at the front end for ven- 

 tilation. If this blocking up leaves a crack 

 between the first feeder and the hive, push 

 -a couple of small strips under it so that all 

 ■will be tight around the feeders. 



One must be careful to see that robbing 

 •does not get started; for while these strong 

 <?olonies may not be robbed out, yet a big 

 fight, and bad bees to handle, may result, 

 as well as having the work hindered. 



After the feeders are adjusted properly, 

 put on two or three supers of sections, and 

 in arranging the sections to go back put 

 those which are the nearest finished on the 

 •outside of the supers. If there are as many 

 as eight sections for each super all sealed 

 on one side, put the sealed side to the out- 

 side of the outer row iu each super. It is 

 •doubtful whether it pays to feed for any 

 lets than half built out. But those needing 

 the most work must alwaj^s go into the 

 middle rows. The nicest work is on those 

 just about built out but not sealed over. 

 For securing the best results, those partly 

 sealed should be uncapped. I think it is 

 preferable to take oft' all sections a little 

 sooner than usual where one feeds back, as 

 it not only keeps the combs and sections 

 freer from travel-stain and propolis, but it 

 is not so necessary to uncap the sealed por- 

 tion as it is after the flow has slacked 

 wlien some combs are sealed light or thin. 

 If feeding, or another flow starts, the parts 

 unsealed will be " bulged," for the bees will 

 build these unsealed parts out to the proper 

 distance from the separators, even if it is 

 only two or three rows of cells at the bottom 

 or sides. 



If, however, they are taken off as soon as 

 the height of the flow is over, in most cases 

 only the part built out will be sealed, so 

 that, when the work is taken up again, it is 

 more as it would have been if tl.e flow had 

 continued until the combs were finished. I 

 think this is worth considering; for not only 

 is it a puttering and difficult job to uncap 

 sections, but these uncapped combs drip, 

 and tempt robbers, and make more work 

 for the bees, for a good part of this un- 

 capped honey will be taken out of the combs 

 as soon as the bees get a chance. 



I do not like the common standard super 

 for getting honey finished. I prefer a super 

 % inch wider than the standard width, so as 



to allow a slatted separator to be tacked 

 to the sides of the super, using V2 or % inch 

 sticks behind it, thus giving a clustering- 

 space outside the outer row of sections in 

 the super. These sticks are put one at one 

 end of each section, thus using five sticks 

 to each super. Then have the follower board 

 perforated with %-ineh holes, or slots, so 

 the bees in clustering behind the follower 

 will also have access to the outside of the 

 combs on that side. Such an arrangement 

 is a great help in getting the outside rows 

 built out. either during a flow or when 

 feeding. There is no trouble in using such a 

 super on a regular hive, as it projects only 

 % inch on each side ; and any' cover, unless, 

 perhais. a telescope, will cover it just as 

 well. 



The feed for flnishing white honey must 

 be white honey, of course; but it need not 

 be ripe; in fact, it must be green, or else 

 thinned to the consistence of gi'een honej', 

 and it should be fed as warm as can be 

 used without killing bees. 



When the flow is drawing to a close, if a 

 colony has the supers about finished, instead 

 of putting on another section super on top, 

 as is usually recommended, put a shallow 

 extracting-super on the brood-chamber and 

 put the sections on top of an escape-board, 

 and get them off; mass the unfinished into 

 supers as described above, on quick sealers, 

 and extract these shallow supers as fast as 

 needed to feed the ciuick sealers. To one 

 who has not tried it, it may be a surprise 

 how much some colonies will put into a set 

 of built combs after section work has about 

 come to a standstill. I would recommend 

 that the first few feeds be given at dusk, so 

 as to avoid any danger of robbing; but 

 after that, the bees become somewhat ac- 

 customed to it, and the feeder can be filled 

 as fast as emptied all day. Use a good 

 smoke in feeding, keep the bees out of the 

 way so the feeders can be rapidly filled, and 

 keep any robbers or stray bees away from 

 the feeders while uncovered. The hives 

 should stand level sidewise, so that the feed- 

 ers will hold their full capacity; and they 

 should not slope much toward the entrance, 

 for the same reason. 



As soon as wax secretion is well under 

 waj', as can be told by seeing that the light- 

 er combs in the center are being built out, 

 raise up the supers and put on two more. 

 I always try to have five or six supers on 

 after wax secretion is well under way, al- 

 ways having the nearest finished ones at 

 the top, and one or two with plenty of stor- 

 age room in them next to the brood-cham- 

 ber. 



If I have about all the sujiers necessary 

 on, and still no super is all finished, I take 



