AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



21 



All sections which are partly filled 

 with honey, should have the honey ex- 

 tracted from them (unless you think you 

 will need it to feed in the spring), as 

 the honey will not correspond in color 

 with that which the bees put in to finish 

 out the sections the next season. To 

 extract this nicely, fix a shelf close to 

 the ceiling of a room, put the honey 

 thereon, and keep the room so warm 

 that the mercury will stand at 90° to 

 100° for three or four hours before you 

 extract. By placing the honey near the 

 ceiling, it does not require nearly as 

 much fire to heat it as it would if placed 

 on the floor or a bench. 



These partly-filled sections, if ex- 

 tracted without warming, would be 

 ruined, and the apiarist's prospect of a 

 large yield of honey the coming season 

 would be much impaired also, for these 

 combs are better, to him, than money in 

 the bank, when used as " bait sections." 



After the honey is extracted, these 

 sections are to be put in the center wide 

 frame for each hive, so as to secure an 

 early commencement of work by bees in 

 the sections, and so the full sections 

 shall not all come off at once, which will 

 cause the bees to be loth to enter a sec- 

 ond set. Fill the rest of the wide frames 

 with empty sections, each having a 

 starter of nice white comb or comb 

 foundation attached to the top. 



To put on this starter, get a flat piece 

 of iron and heat it, hold the starter close 

 to the top of the section (now turned 

 bottom side up), draw the iron under 

 the starter, and immediately place it 

 (the starter) in the right position, and it 

 becomes a fixture. 



After having your wide frames all 

 filled as directed, pack them away so 

 that they will be ready for use at a 

 moment's notice next June. 



The next work is to get out material 

 for more section boxes, if we have ma- 

 chinery, or to purchase the material in 

 the flat if we do not get it out ourselves. 

 It does not matter so much how it is ob- 

 tained, as when it is got ready, for if 

 put off until just before the honey har- 

 vest, the result almost always shows a 

 greater or less loss. 



To arrive at the number we wish, if 

 we allow 100 one-pound sections for 

 each old colony in the spring, we shall 

 find the estimate not far out of the way, 

 as I have proven after several years of 

 experience. It is well always to be ^ure 

 to have enough, for it is far better to 

 have a few sections left over than to 

 have " our pile " become exhausted in 

 the midst of a good honey-flow. As soon 



as the sections are on hand, furnish 

 each one with a nice starter, and pack 

 them nicely away. 



Next, we are to make or get what 

 hives we wish, together with more wide 

 frames, if we think more will be needed. 

 Fill all of the wide frames from the pile 

 of sections as before directed, put a strip 

 of foundation in each brood-frame, and 

 pack all nicely away. This strip of 

 foundation is placed in the frames as a 

 comb guide, where they are not filled 

 full of foundation. I use a strip three- 

 fourths of a inch wide, and, to fasten it 

 to the frame, get out a bourd which is 

 the size of the inside of your frame, and 

 only half as thick, which is to be fast- 

 ened to another board a little longer, 

 having a handle to it, so that it can be 

 easily held in the left hand. 



Now lay the frame on the thin board, 

 and then place the strip of foundation 

 on it, and next to the top-bar of the 

 frame. Now tip the board to such an 

 angle that the top-bar of the frame and 

 the strip of foundation will make a V- 

 shaped trough, which is to be so inclined 

 that when the melted wax is poured in 

 at the upper end it will immediately run 

 down to the lower end, which (the 

 melted wax) in passing along adheres 

 to both the frame and foundation, thus 

 fastening the strip of foundation se- 

 curely. 



Then there are the shipping-cases for 

 the honey to be prepared ; shipping- 

 cages for queens, if we rear queens for 

 sale, etc., etc., all of which should be 

 prepared during the wintry days, so 

 that when spring opens we shall have 

 nothing to do but to give our whole 

 attention to the bees. 



Above all else in importance, is a 

 thorough knowledge of apiculture, and 

 during the long winter evenings which 

 are here, is just the time to gain this 

 knowledge. Get around the back num- 

 bers of the American Bee Journal, 

 and other bee-papers if you have them, 

 and thoroughly read them, so as to put 

 what you learn in practice the next sea- 

 son, so as to be always advancing in- 

 stead of standing still or retrograding. 

 Do this instead of spending your even- 

 ings at the store, saloon or hotel, listen- 

 ing to the idle gossip, or worse than 

 gossip, and, ray word for it, you will 

 make a success of bee-keeping which 

 will astonish those about you. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



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