304 Beekeeping 



honey, and the beekeepers in favorable localities may find 

 it profitable to increase their production of honey in sections. 



Advantages of comb-honey. 



The advantages in the production of comb-honey are 

 numerous. As stated in the previous chapter, some of the 

 delicate aroma of the finest grades of honey is lost in ex- 

 tracting, but this is retained to the full in comb-honey. In 

 the production of comb-honey by the small beekeeper, less 

 expensive equipment is necessary. The handling of the 

 honey is a clean job and there is an attractiveness about 

 the product that makes the handling of it a pleasure. The 

 wholesale price of comb-honey is higher than that of ex- 

 tracted-honey, but the amount obtained from each colony 

 is usually less, so that the return is about the same in either 

 case. In a good honey-flow the advantage is with the 

 comb-honey producer who uses proper methods of manipu- 

 lation, while in light honey-flows only the producer of ex- 

 tracted-honey gets all the crop. The section is a convenient 

 package for retail trade. In this connection it should be 

 noted that in comb-honey production the beekeeper pre- 

 pares the honey for the consumer while extracted-honey 

 is more often sold in wholesale packages. When extracted- 

 honey is blended and bottled it usually brings as high a 

 retail price as comb-honey, but in this case the beekeeper 

 does not do all the work and the bottler gets a good share 

 of the profits. Comb-honey meets with more ready sale 

 in most markets than does extracted-honey. 



. 

 Disadvantages of comb-honey. 



Comb-honey ships poorly and consequently there is often 

 considerable loss from breakage, on which account some 

 wholesale honey dealers refuse to handle it. In colonies 

 run for comb-honey, swarming is a much more serious 

 problem than in the larger hives with plenty of empty comb 

 space used for extracted-honey. In light honey-flows, bees 



