THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



55 



as that of the queen. It is well to make 

 as good a selection of the drone as of 

 the queen when rearing queens. 



THE PROI'EIJ HIVE TO fSE 



This* is a q lestion that no one dares 

 to decide for anyone but himself. If I 

 cared to advise any one on the selection 

 of a hiv'e, I sliould say that a hive 

 adapted to a frame about the Langstroth 

 standard, whether it is a closed-end, 

 plain L., or the Hoffman style, is all that 

 one would need. A good colony of bees 

 will live and thrive in almost any kind 

 of a box, barrel, nail-cask, or. in fact, 

 in a barn or in a meeting-house steeple ; 

 but tlie practical beekeeper wants some- 

 thing better. He wants a hive on which 

 can be placed and directly over the 

 brood-nest not less than 24 one-pound 

 sections, and a hive on which the sec- 

 tions can be tiered to any practical ex- 

 tent. About 100 sections are as many as 

 shoidd be placed on any hive at one time. 



If bees are to be wintered on the 

 summer stand, the brood-nest should 

 be ])rotected by an outside case. This 

 would not only help the bees to winter 

 well, but it is of great value to the colony 

 in the spring. 



PACKING IN WINTER. 



It has been decided by actual experi- 

 ment that packing between the outer 

 and inner hives is not necessary in- 

 winter. The main objection to doing 

 so is the liability of the combs to mould 

 from the dampness that is always pres- 

 ent in hives that are packed. Packing 

 over the combs is all right. Bees can- 

 not be packed too warm in the spring. 

 Pack the hives so that there will be no loss 

 of heat. This will promote brood rear- 

 ing and the bees will require less food 

 to maintain the high temperature neces- 

 sary to brood rearing.. 



WHEX TO UNPACK. 



Unpack when it is time to put the 

 sections on. There will be cold nights 

 after that, and in order to keep the tem- 

 perature of the brood-chamber as high 

 as possible the entrance should be con- 

 tracted each night to about one inch. 



FOINDA'MOX IN SKCTIoNS. 



It is actually necessary to put more or 

 less foundation in the sections as start- 

 ers, as the bees are slow to enter them 

 unless there is something to induce them 

 to do so. Then again, if the honey is 

 to be put in the sections in the best 

 form, a starter must be used. Many 

 think it is an advantage to fill the sec- 

 tion full with foundation. I find a 

 piece one inch wide to run across the 

 top of the section about all that is need- 

 ed. If cut in V-shape it works all 

 right. 



Whatever foundation is used in the 

 sections, it should be the thinnest made. 

 Your customers will nof be well pleased 

 with your honev even if it is of the best 

 quality, if that '"fish-bone" is found in it. 



BEST TIME TO REMOVE HONEV FROM 

 THE HIVE. 



To preserve its snowy whiteness honey 

 should be removed from the hive as 

 soon as it is all capped. In my opinion 

 the quality is much improved the longer 

 it is left on the hive ; yet if it is not 

 soon ren-oved after being capped, the 

 beauty of the comb cappings will be dark, 

 and the jirice obtained for it will be much 

 less if sold to the fancy dealer. 



WHEliE TO KEEP HONEY. 



Dog-day weather is the worst time for 

 comb honey. The air is so full of mois- 

 ture and the honey so cold that damp- 

 ness condenses on the cappings, and if 

 all the cells are not sealed, the unsealed 

 honey absorbs the moisture, sours, runs 

 out and daubs the combs. If the hon- 

 ey does not run out when not handled, 

 it is sure to run like water if the sec- 

 tion is given a little cant. The best 

 l)lace to store comb honey is in a warm, 

 dry place. Ifonehasmuch honeystored, 

 it will pay to keep a little fire in the 

 room on such days as we call '•' muggy." 

 Start the fire and ventilate the room. 

 The heat will not hurt the honey but 

 the moisture will. Few dealers want 

 honey on hand until after dog-day 

 weather is over and flies are gone. The 

 honey room should be kept dark. 



