76 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



less regular ones, or if all are alike as regards regularity and in having 

 worker cells only, but some contain considerable honey and little 

 brood, these are to be removed and the empty space filled in with good 

 worker combs. The removed combs should be placed in the top story, 

 which, if the weather and the strength of the colony permit, is to be filled 

 out with combs at once. The strongest colonies will, of course, begin 

 work first, and can often spare partly filled combs to be placed in the top 

 stories of less populous colonies, thus encouraging the latter to begin 

 work in the upper stories. It is safe to say that in general more than twice 

 the yield of honey can be obtained from colonies supplied during the 

 whole honey flow, with all the completed combs they are able to utilize, 

 than can be expected from colonies that have ^o build all of the combs 

 for their surplus while storing. Completed combs not being available, 

 comb foundation in full sheets should be employed. During the early 

 part of the harvest this will be drawn out very quickly and aid greatly 

 in securing the honey which otherwise might be lost for want of store 

 combs as fast as might be needed. During a fair yield the foundation 

 will pay for itself the first season in the extra amount of honey, and the 

 combs, properly cared for, can be used year after year indefinitely, in 

 fact for extracting. The best of them should be picked out constantly 

 to replace less desirable ones that may be found in the brood apartment, 

 or to give to new swarms destined to produce extracted honey. Some 

 prefer for the surplus cases frames half the depth of ordinary brood 

 frames, finding them easier to manipulate. 



Whenever the combs of a top story are nearly filled, and before they 

 are completely sealed, it may be lifted up and another story, filled with 

 empty combs, placed between it and the brood apartment, and this may 

 be continued until the end of the honey flow, and all may be left on the 

 hive during the warm weather. It would, of course, be easier to add 

 the new stories successively at the top that is, above the partially filled 

 surplus stories and this plan works well as long as the honey flow is 

 abundant, but when put on just as the yield slackens, even if but little, 

 or when the weather is cool, the bees may refuse to begin work in the 

 new super unless it is placed between the partially filled ones and the 

 brood apartment. Leaving the filled top stories on the hives for some 

 time permits the more complete evaporation of the moisture contained 

 in the newly gathered honey, and by marking the stories the honey 

 from a certain source, when the yield has been sufficient to get the 

 combs filled and sealed, can be extracted by itself. If the supply of 

 combs is in sufficient to hold the whole amount gathered, it must then be 

 extracted as fast as sealed, lest the bees, lacking ready cells in which to 

 deposit their surplus as fast as gathered, hang idly about, or if space 

 for new combs exists, only slowly provide these, losing meanwhile much 

 of the harvest. When sealed the honey will generally be found fairly 

 ripened, though it may improve by being stored in open buckets or cans 

 in a dry, warm room. 



