1895. 



THE AMEBICAN'BEE-KEEPER. 



125 



of section honey, than we could expect 

 under any conditions, and fully 

 enough to satisfy any reasonable per- 

 son. 



WHEN TO PUT ON SECTIONS. 



Question. — When is the proper time 

 to put on sections for surplus ? 



Aiisiver. — No set time as to month or 

 day can be given for putting on sec- 

 tions in any locality, as all depends 

 on the strength of colony and the time 

 of the opening of the blossoms which 

 give us our main honey crop, both of 

 which are advanced or retarded in 

 accord with the earliness or lateness 

 of the season. Some say, put on all 

 surplus arrangements as soon as the 

 first buds giving out surplus honey 

 are about bursting open, no matter 

 about the strength of the colonies. 

 Others tell us to put on sections as 

 soon as the colonies are strong enough, 

 with out any reference to the time of 

 the blooming of the flowers, they say- 

 ing, " It is a mistake to put off putting 

 on sections till the honey harvest is 

 upon the bees, as they will sometimes 

 waste time looking through the sur- 

 plus apartment before going to work." 

 I can not agree with any of the above, 

 as it savors to much of the old "luck 

 in bee-keeping ' ' we used to hear 

 so much about, and does not give 

 credit to any apiarist of managing his 

 business intelligently. After years of 

 experimenting, to know just when 

 the sections should be placed upon the 

 hive, I have arrived at this: Wait 

 about putting the sections on till the 

 hive becomes populous with bees and 

 the combs well filled with brood, and 

 till the bees are securing enough hon- 

 ey from the fields to begin to lengthen 

 the cells along the tops of the combs 



next the top-bar of the frames, or 

 build little bits of comb here and there 

 about the hive. When we see this it 

 is time to put on the sections ; for if 

 we delay longer we are sure to lose in 

 time and honey ; while if we place 

 sections on the hive, no matter how 

 populous with bees it may be, before 

 any honey is coming in from the 

 fields, we shall lose by the bees gnaw- 

 ing or tearing down more or less of 

 the foundation placed in the sections. 

 If we use only starters of natural comb 

 in our sections, then they can be 

 placed on the hive as soon as the col- 

 onies are strong in bees and brood, if 

 we so desire ; but even then I can see 

 nothing gained over the other, unless 

 we are liable to be crowded for time at 

 the right time for putting them on. 

 If my memory serves me rightly. Dr. 

 Miller has put forth the claim that it 

 is only after the honey season is over 

 that the bees gnaw holes and tear down 

 foundation, which may be correct with 

 him in his locality ; but with me bees 

 always mutilate foundation in the sec- 

 tions, more or less, at any time of the 

 year when an abundance of numbers, 

 or hot weather, crowds them into the 

 sections at a time when there is no 

 .honey coming in. I had scores of 

 sections one season in which all the 

 upper half of the foundation was 

 gnawed away but a little strip or neck 

 about § to i of an inch in width; and 

 when honey began to come in, and 

 the foundation was worked out, it 

 twisted and turned to such an extent 

 that it was attached to the separators 

 on either side, thus spoiling such sec- 

 tions for market when they came to 

 be removed, as the honey would be 

 set to running in getting the combs 

 loose from the sections. 



