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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



G3 



tliey begin to seal much. The same phiii 

 should be adopted as with boxes to get 

 the tliree rows started all together. If 

 they work the strongest at one side or one 

 end, reverse the case and get them to dis- 

 tribute their work, as it is so much easier 

 to tier up a whole case than it is one or 

 two rows. However, some bees will 

 start one or two rows and leave the others 

 severely alone. In that case, as soon as 

 the one or two rows of frames are ready 

 to tier up you will take the case oft' and 

 set it uj) on end on a bench or chair, and 

 take a thin table knife and run it from 

 the bottom between the frames and the 

 case, on all sides of the empty row, in 

 order to loosen the propolis; then push 

 the row all out together and put them in 

 the tier up case and till it out with new 

 frames, then put it in the liive and put 

 the parll)^ filled case on top; then fold up 

 some cloth and hiy it down in the empty 

 space, so the beee cannot occupy it, and 

 if they have a good lot of food and the 

 yield is good'they will probably start the 

 next case more even. We frequently get 

 the three tier under before the first one is 

 ready lo come off. 



These cases will weiiili when filled from 

 50 to 55 lt)S. each, after deducting the 

 weight of the case. The frames sell with 

 the honey and will weigh from one to two 

 ounces each. 



I see by the journals some advise tak- 

 ing out a frame as soon as it is finished 

 and replacing by an empty one. It seems 

 to me if they had ever made a ton of hon- 

 ey in that way they would think there 

 should be some easier way to do it, as I 

 can certainly tier up a dozen full ' cases 

 while I could overhaul one set. That 

 might be a good plan if the bees were al- 

 lowed to swarm. There are one or two 

 objections urged by beekeepers, when 

 first looking them over. One is, it seems 

 to them as if it was more work than with 

 boxes; but our beekeepers here, after hav- 

 ing a few years' experience in the make 

 and use of them, say they think a man 

 can run 1(H) stocks with frames with 

 about the same labor that it takes to run 

 5U stocks with boxes. Another objection 

 , is, that as tiie bees cannot get in between 

 the case and tlie frames, they say the 

 moth worms will get in there, but having 

 made a good deal of honey in that way, 

 and liaving seen several tons in diftereut 

 seasons made in this county, I have yet 

 to see the first worm in that place. Of 

 course they are put ou none but strong 

 stocks. One wing of each queen is clip- 

 ped and all swarms returned and managed 

 the same as with box honey. As a result 

 of all this, I advise all to get their supers 



made in the winter. Make all small 

 frames and boxes that will be needed, 

 put in the glass, stick in the combs, get 

 them all ready to set in the hive, and set 

 away in a safe place till wanted. Make 

 at least super capacity enough to hold 100 

 lt)S. for each full stock in winter quarters. 

 If you liave twenty such stocks make ten 

 new hives — and no more — and make it 

 you.i business to see to it, that those bees 

 shall fill those supers, and on no account 

 draw more brood than is sufficient to 

 build up ten stocks for the season. If 

 you have the supers all ready it will be 

 half the battle towards getting them fill- 

 ed, as I believe a great deal of box honey 

 is lost by not having the supers ready in 

 season. Get the supers on several days 

 before the yield of surplus commences. 

 If the stocks are strong in bees, (crowded) 

 it will do no harm to have them ou a 

 week or more before they use them. Bet- 

 ter not put them ou at all than to put them 

 ou a week late, as it will probably be 

 labor in vain. I suppose I should qualify 

 the amount of super room to suit the lo- 

 cation. If the location is such that there 

 is little or no surplus from locust trees, 

 white and alsike clover, raspberry, and 

 the tulip tree, and there is au abundance 

 of basswood, the whole crop, nearly, com- 

 ing from the latter source, and all deliv- 

 ered within a few days, my advice would 

 be to use no surplus for comb honey, or 

 if they were used they should be used 

 over a two-story hive and the combs ex- 

 tracted from the upper story of the hive, 

 as the time would be too short to make 

 the wax comb necessary to holdthe wiiole 

 gathering, or daily yield, but if the yield 

 of surplus commences, as with us, ou lo- 

 cust, and runs down through the list, get- 

 ting a slight sprinkling of basswood, and 

 after a few days is followed with buck- 

 wheat, we think we can get nearly as 

 many pounds of comb honey as we cau 

 extract from ten brood combs. My the- 

 ory is that the young bees elaborate the 

 wax as fast as neetled and use but little 

 more honey than they would to perfect 

 the growth of their wings and other or- 

 gans. 



You will see that as soon as the bees 

 are out of the small frames they are ready 

 to ship. As the case is as cheap as any 

 crate you would make to carry small 

 frames and show the honey. The honey 

 is made in the case, is waxed fast and will 

 ship safely to any distance. We general- 

 ly place a sheet of w'rapping paper over 

 the top of each case and fix thena so they 

 will not slip off from one another where 

 they are piled three or four tiers high. 

 J. P. Moore. 



Binghamton, N. Y. 



