802 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 17, 



COMB HONEY IN THE SOUTH. 



To Southern Bee-Keepers — Especially Those 

 of Florida. 



BY A. F. BROWN. 



Why not produce more comb honey instead of so much 

 cheap extracted honey? Nine-tenths, if not ninety-nine one- 

 hundreths, of all the surplus marketable honey from the South 

 is " liquid " or "extracted honey." This, for the past three 

 years or more, has been selling at not far from 45 to 55 cents 

 per gallon (of 11 J^ to 12 pounds weight) in the Northern 

 markets — New York, Boston, Albany, and other places. 

 Prom this price must come cofnmission, freight, drayage and 

 leakage, also the first cost of the cans or barrels, and the pro- 

 ducer gets not far from "three cents" per pound, or even 

 less. When we come to sum it down to this, the question 

 arises. Are we as producers handling the products of our api- 

 aries to the best advantage to get the most money out of 

 them ? Can we not secure more money out of our gross crop 

 if harvested in comb honey instead of in the liquid shape ? 



During the past three years good quality comb honey has 

 brought 12 to 16 cents per pound gross. The same quality of 

 honey I sold in the extracted shape at -IJa and 5 cents, 

 brought 14 cents in the comb, by the same house, and during 

 the same time. 



I have produced quite a few tons of choice extracted 

 honey, and have also bought and sold a good deal for my 

 neighbors. I have also produced several tons of comb honey 

 — about 18,000 pounds — and from my experience I am led to 

 believe that we (tho.se among us who have any size apiaries, 

 and profess to give the business the attention it requires) are 

 losing money in not producing more comb honey and less 

 cheap extracted honey. 



My comb honey was sold principally in New York, Bos- 

 ton and Albany — all Northern cities — and it brought the price 

 of Northern clover and basswood honey selling there at that 

 time. The comb honey was from orange, palmetto, and man- 

 grove, grading light amber to white. The ratio of yield com- 

 pared to colonies run for extracted honey averaged TO to SO 

 per cent, in number of pounds. 



My sections hold 12 to 14 ounces gross, a portion being 

 4'4'x4j^x7-to-the-foot, and a portion 3%x5xl^ inches ; this 

 latter size — "New Prize" — I like the best, as about 25 per 

 cent, more can be arranged over a given size brood-nest. 

 Most of my comb honey was produced over an 8-frame (comb 

 space) size brood-nest, colonies occupying two stories until 

 the honey-flow, when the queens were confined to the lower 

 story, the upper one removed, and sections given. 



I used full sheets of comb foundation with a bottom 

 starter J-2 inch wide, there being about H' inch space between 

 the large starter above and small one below, to allow for 

 stretching. Thin wood separators were used between all sec- 

 tions, and the cases were tiered as fast as an individual colony 

 required, the first being raised when half or two-thirds filled, 

 the second not until the first was filled, and second half-full or 

 more. I found more erring in giving room too fast than not 

 fast enough. The grade of foundation used in sections was 

 10 square feet to the pound. 



I removed most of my comb honey by means of the Porter 

 escape, which saves a vast amount of work in brushing and 

 smoking, and the gnawing open of many cells of honey, when 

 the honey is sealed solid out to the wood. 



I crated my honey in 24 and 30 section single-tier ship- 

 ping-cases ; also some in the 6 box " D" cases. Eight large 

 crates, or 32 of the 6 box ones, were crated in a large carrier, 

 having 2 inches of straw In the bottom, and handles project- 

 ing 6 inches at each end near the top. This insured practi- 

 cally no loss from breakage and leakage; also the disfigure- 

 ment by dirt of the small cases. My loss in the way of break- 

 age and leakage in transit was less than one-half of one per 

 cent. A portion of my crop was put in the single-co-nb paste- 

 board cartons, but I found no advantage in their use. Nice, 

 clean, 24-pound shipping-cases, glass on one side, these 

 crated 8 to the carrier, give the best results. 



In 1893 my bees swarmed a great deal ; in 1894 quite to 

 the contrary, when I produced 10,000 pounds of comb 

 honey and 42,000 pounds of extracted — 26 tons in all. In 

 1895 my apiaries were entirely annihilated by the ravages of 

 foul brood, or, more properly, I should say, I annihilated 

 them. The big freeze and blizzard of February, 1895, de- 

 stroyed a vast amount of brood, sealed and unsealed, in many 

 apiaries through Florida. Until the following few months 

 after that time we knew nothing of foul brood in my section 

 — east and middle Florida. I did not discover the disease in 

 my apiary until August, being sick in bed four months with 

 billions fever during the summer. My remedy was severe but 

 sure — I burned cveryDiiny, and commenced anew, with new 

 hives, fixtures, and everything in a new location. Other api- 

 aries in this State are badly infested, and in some cases were 

 totally destroyed the same year, others this year. 



In putting in a couple of extensive new apiaries the past 

 year, I have profited by my past experience with comb honey, 

 and am putting in a large number of hives carrying a frame 

 the same depth as the standard Simplicity, but a few inches 

 shorter ; in size it is 9}sxl4;4', top-bar 16 inches, 10 of these 

 frames in a case, which gives a little more comb space than the 

 regular 8-frame hive, and in much better shape for comb- 

 honey production. This frame also fits the standard make of 

 extractors scattered throughout the country — an item worthy 

 of consideration. 



The size of section used on this hive is the " New Prize " 

 — 3%x5xl% inches, open top and bottom full width, and it is 

 the best size and shape section made to-day, in my estimation. 

 I made my new hive in length of frame to accommodate this 

 size section. The sections are adjusted in cases, in section- 

 holders, S in number, giving 32 sections in a case over a 10- 

 frame brood-nest. 



I have tested these " short-cut " hives alongside of regular 

 8 and 10 frame (Simplicity frame) Dovetail hives during an 

 average season, and in my locality, and with my management, 

 the "shortcut" hives are far ahead in the production of 

 comb honey. If one is to produce nothing but extracted 

 honey, I know of no better hive than the standard 10-frame 

 Dovetail, tiered two or three stories, as occasion and colonies 

 require. But for comb honey they do not afford the requisite 

 comb space for breeding in the best shape for the adjustment 

 of sections. Reduce the length of frames two or three inches, 

 and one has an " ideal " comb-honey hive. 



But this is not the point I wished discussed. What I want 

 you all to consider is, Are you, or are you not, working to the 

 best advantage in producing extracted instead of comb honey ? 

 I have given you a chapter from my experience, and told you 

 what I have done, and am doing, in putting in my new 

 apiaries. 



I have made honey-production my exclusive business for 

 eight years — previous to then a side-issue for two or three 

 years, and in the production, handling and selling of tons of 

 honey in this State I have acquired some of the first princi- 

 ples and requisitions that come from long experience. I do 

 not profess to advise you what is best for your case, but I tell 

 what I have found best for my needs, in my locality. 



Putnam Co., Pla. 



The Importation of Apis Dorsata Discouraged. 



BY J. A. GREEN. 



The idea of inducing our Government to send an expedi- 

 tion to India to bring to our shores the "giant bee" — Apis 

 dorsata — is a very attractive one to many bee-keepers. They 

 argue, with much reason, that it is the province of the Govern- 

 ment to search out, import and make available whatever of 

 the fauna and flora of other countries may prove valuable 

 additions to our own. There are others who say that as long 

 as the Government is wasting money in various other direc- 

 tions, we might as well have our share, with a chance of get- 

 ting some benefit from it. 



That the first view of the case is largely correct can 

 hardly be denied. Various instances may be given where 

 governmental aid in these directions has been productive of 

 much good. True, there are some instances, such as the in- 

 troduction of the English sparrow, which have resulted dis- 

 astrously, and the amount of money that has been squandered 

 in abortive attempts of the kind will probably never be known. 



The " free seed distribution " of the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment is one of the most gigantic farces ever perpetrated upon 

 a suffering public, though in the abstract the principles on 

 which it is based are all right and proper. 



Our own experience with the " Chapman honey-plant " 

 has inclined me to be a little chary about asking the Govern- 



