306 Beekeeping 



the price of the better grades of comb-honey and make it 

 profitable for some northern beekeepers again to produce 

 comb-honey. The restrictions here enumerated obviously 

 require that comb-honey be produced by specialists, for 

 the careless beekeeper and the man who can devote but 

 little time to his bees cannot hope to produce the finer 

 grades of comb-honey, except by the accidents of excep- 

 tional honey-flows. 



Honey-house. 



The apparatus for the extensive production of comb- 

 honey is rather complex. The first requirement is a build- 

 ing for storing apparatus, preparing supers and caring for 

 the crop. This building should be rat-proof and is fre- 

 quently built over the cellar in which the bees are wintered, 

 for commercial comb-honey production is largely restricted 

 to the North. In managing out-apiaries, it is customary 

 to carry out the empty supers and bring them back com- 

 pleted to the central workshop. The place in which the 

 comb-honey is stored should be the warmest room in the 

 building and should be arranged for artificial heat when 

 necessary. It should be sealed to keep out insects and to 

 allow fumigation. 



Hives for comb-honey. 



The best hive for comb-honey is a matter of dispute. 

 While the Langstroth hive is used more than any other, 

 the number of frames to be used is much debated. If the 

 locality will permit of the building up of the colony to fill 

 ten frames completely, a hive of this capacity is preferable, 

 but in many places this is virtually impossible and an eight- 

 frame hive gives better results. Of course the colony oc- 

 cupies the same hive throughout the year and the need of 

 abundant stores in winter gives the preference to the ten- 

 frame hive but, by care, the disadvantage of the smaller 

 capacity of the eight-frame hive for winter stores may be 

 overcome. Whatever hive is used, for the production of 



