80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



is a great advantage when putting on the first set of sections 

 to have three or four bait sections, or sections containing 

 drawn comb, to put in the center of the super and so encour- 

 age them to begin work at once. 



If you are located in a place where there is quite a honey 

 flow from fruit bloom, dandelion or willow, before the main 

 honey flow commences, it is well to put on a set of extracting 

 supers, and put the comb honey super on later in its place. 

 You will be astonished how they rush work in this super, and 

 what beautiful honey you can secure. After removing those 

 extracting supers they may be used to hive swarms on, or be 

 disposed of in some other way. As the honey harvest draws 

 to a close, you must put on additional sections sparingly, even 

 going so far as to pick out a dozen finished sections from the 

 center of the super and substitute empty ones. This we call 

 weeding. 



Of course, all sections should have a full sheet of section 

 foundation, and all brood frames a full sheet of brood founda- 

 tions, as by so doing you secure all worker combs and so avoid 

 rearing a multitude of drones, to become consumers instead of 

 producers, for bees can build comb more quickly if made 

 drone size, but it is far from profitable to the owner. 



If you conclude to produce extracted honey a very large 

 hive is essential to get the best results. I would not recom- 

 mend a hive or series of hives of a less capacity than 28 Lang- 

 stroth frames, and would prefer them larger, having secured 

 the best results with 28 Quimby frames, which is equal to 

 about 37 Langstroth frames. Of course, if yon do not restrict 

 the queen by a queen excluder you will not have swarms, as 

 some of the lower combs will be empty, and bees are not in- 

 clined to swarm when they are obliged to pass over empty 

 combs when returning from the field. By this system I have 

 produced as high as 4,120 pounds from 17 colonies, or an 

 average of 242 ]iounds per colony, leaving over 40 pounds of 

 stores to each for winter. N^o increase was made. Only one 

 of them swarmed, and that was returned. The bees were kept 

 warmly packed in early spring, and the brood was spread as 

 fast as the cool weather would permit, putting empty combs 



