April, 1017 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



285 



Fi 



N Lesson No. 

 we took lip 



c 



LESSON NO. 3. — THE FIRST EQUIPMENT. 



proiaer, examined the honey production 



in detail the 

 different parts 

 of the hive. In 

 Lesson No. 2 W2 

 had several 

 glimpses into the 

 mysterious in- 

 terior of the hive 



building- of the comb, the storing of the 

 pollen and the honey, and the rearing of the 

 brood. In this Lesson it is proper, 

 especially at this time of the year, to con- 

 sider what kind of outfit the prospective 

 beekeeper, the " new " beginner, should 

 have. 



Most beginners wish to produce comb 

 honey. Some authorities advise it, in fact, 

 but there is little or no reason for this 

 aside from the inadequate excuse that the 

 production of comb honey requires no hon- 

 ey-extractor — that is, the machine for whirl- 

 ing the combs and throwing the honey out 

 bv the centrifugal force thus created. It is 



BEGINNERS' Lessons 



3 



a fact, to which 

 any experienced 

 beekeeper will 

 testify, that ex- 

 tracted - honey 

 production re- 

 quires far less 

 skill than suc- 

 cessful c m b- 



There are several rea- 

 sons for this. Bees do not produce honey 

 in the small section honey-boxes as readily 

 as they do in the larger combs, simply be- 

 cause the small combs, divided up as they 

 are, and separated from each other, are 

 somewhat contrary to nature. Now, be- 

 cause bees do not as readily erfter these 

 comb-honey supers, it is more difficult to 

 keep them from swarming and thus dividing 

 their forces at a time when only by united 

 action can a large amount of surplus honey 

 be produced. 



Then a colony lo produce a Daying crop 

 of comb honey must be brought to the very 

 acme of strength just at the time the honey- 



An outfit for a heginnei- who expects to produce extracted honey: 



1 ten-frame liive body, wired frames with sheets of comb foundation. 



2 ten-frame supers identical with hive body. 



1 floor-board. 



1 inner cover. 



1 outer cover. 



1 two-frame honey-extractor. 



1 bee-brush. 



1 uncapping-knife. 



1 No. 2 bee-veil. 



1 bee-smoker. 



1 hive-tool. 



1 pair bee-gloves (if desired). 



