March, 1921 



GLEANINGS IN B E K U T. T IT R 10 



l(Jt 



so well done in the catalogs put out by 

 dealers in beekeepers' supplies. The be- 

 ginner will find in the catalog illustrations 

 (if the modern beehive partially dissected, 

 showing the various parts of the hive, and 

 giving the name of each part; and on the 

 same pages will be found explanatory notes, 

 telling the purpose of each of the parts. 

 These should be studied carefully, for a 

 correct understanding of the modern bee- 

 hive, its parts, their purpose and relative 

 position is of groat importance to begin- 

 ners. This is true also as to all the ap- 

 paratus used by beekeepers, for these are 

 well illustrated and described in the cata- 

 logs which can be had for the asking by 

 writing to any dealer in beekeepers ' suja- 

 plies. By consulting the advertising pages 

 of this journal the address of the leading 

 dealers in bee supplies can be found. 



It is not necessary for the beginner to 

 purchase many of the articles listed in the 

 catalog of the supply dealer; but certain 

 additional equipment is necessary unless it 

 was purchased with the bees. These should 

 be obtained without delay, for if they must 

 be ordered from a distance it will take 

 some time for them to be shipped and as- 

 sembled ready for use. 



Comb Honey or Extracted Honey. 



If the ' ' supers ' ' were not included with 

 the equipment when the bees were pur- 

 chased it will be necessary to provide from 

 one to four of these for each colony (spring 

 count). These supers are the extra chambers 

 which are placed on top of the hive for the 

 storage of the "surplus" honey. The kind 

 of supers to be provided depends upon the 

 kind of honey that is to be produced — 

 whether comb honey or extracted honey. 

 Comb honey is usually built in the small 

 boxes or sections in the regular comb-honey 

 super, tho for home use it may be built in 

 the shallow frames in a shallow extracting 

 super. Extracted honey is stored by the bees 

 either in the combs of the shallow extract- 

 ing super or full-depth combs of the same 

 dimensions as the combs in the brood- 

 chamber. These combs of honey are removed 

 and the honey extracted by means of the 

 honey-extractor, and finally they are re- 

 turned to the bees to be filled again. 



Most beginners produce comb honey at 

 first in order to avoid purchasing an ex- 

 tractor the first year; but comb-honey pro- 

 duction is really a more difiicult undertak- 

 ing than extracted-honey production be- 

 cause of the greater trouble from swarming 

 and the greater difiiculty in inducing the 

 bees to work in the supers with the greatest 

 vigor. More extracted honey can be pro- 

 duced from each colony than comb honey — 

 usually, in the case of beginners, twice as 

 much. On the other hand, comb-honey pro- 

 duction is more fascinating to most begin- 

 ners, and experience is usually gained much 

 more rapidly when comb honey is produced, 

 la nddition to this, in most localities the 



colonies arc in better condition at the close 

 of the season wlieii comb honey is pro- 

 duced. 



Chunk Comb Honey for Home Use. 



If the honey is for home use, it is not 

 necessary to have it stored in the small 

 boxes or sections as when the honey is to 

 be sold in the markets, and for this purpose 

 the shallow extracting supers are excellent. 

 The bees usually work better in these shal- 

 low extracting sutlers than they do in the 

 small boxes of the comb-honey supers. After 

 the shallow extracting frames are filled with 

 hone_y the combs can be cut out as the honey 

 is used and the frames used over again the 

 next year, while the sections are usually 

 used but once. 



In some of the southern States consider- 

 able honey is produced for the market in 

 this w^ay, the combs of honey being cut out 

 of the frames and packed in tin containers 

 for the market. This plan has the further 

 advantage that the same supers may be used 

 for extracted honey, if it is found desirable 

 later to change to extracted-honey produc- 

 tion. In producing this chunk honey, the 

 wires are omitted from the shallow frames 

 in the supers, but a full slieet of a light 

 grade of foundation should be used in each 

 frame. 



Whatever the kind of honey to be pro- 

 duced, whether comb honey in sections, 

 chunk comb honey in shallow extracting 

 frames, or extracted honey in the full- 

 depth frames, the beginner should provide 

 from two to four comb-honey supers for 

 eaeli- colony in the spring, or one or two 

 full-depth extracting supers, if extracted 

 honey is to be produced. In some seasons 

 double this number of supers will be 

 needed, and it is better to have too many 

 than too few. Full sheets of foundation 

 should be used in all sections and all ex- 

 tracting frames, the particular grade of 

 foundation for each purpose being specified 

 in the bee-supply dealer 's catalog. 

 Additional Equipment. 



In addition to the supers the beginner 

 may need some one-story hives for new 

 swarms, especially if comb honey is to be 

 produced, but never more than one new hive 

 for each colony (spring count), and one new 

 hive for every two colonies (sjjiing eounf) 

 should be enough. 



If extracted honey is to be produced a 

 queen-excluder will be needed for each col- 

 ony to exclude the queen from the supers, 

 but queen-excluders are not needed when 

 comb honey in sections is being produced. 



In addition to the hives and supers a good 

 smoker and a bee-veil are absolutely neces- 

 sary for the beginner as well as for the pro- 

 fessional beekeeper. A pair of good bee- 

 gloves will afford a timid beginner great 

 comfort, and some sort of hive-tool will be 

 needed. It is assumed that the necessary 

 l)ooks and bulletins have already been pro- 

 ciii-ed. 



