38 



plan is to run a line of melted wax along the edge of the starter while it is in contact 

 with the wood. Hold the starter with the fingers of the left hand, run the wax with 

 a teaspoon held in the right hand. The most certain way is to make a special jig for 

 the job. First, out of |-inch wood cut pieces 3| inches square ; about a dozen will be 

 enough. Then nail these an inch apart on a board. Now you can hang the folded 

 sections on these, upside down, place the starters in position, then run the wax along 

 the edge. A slight backward tilt to the board is an advantage. The wax will set 

 very quickly, but it takes a little while for it to harden, so handle each section carefully 

 while setting it aside. 



Extracting Combs. 



Extracted honey is produced in ordinary combs, just the kind used in the brood- 

 chamber. While new they are rather tender, therefore many will not use a comb for 

 extracting purposes until it has been bred in at least one season. The colour of the 

 comb in no way affects the colour of the honey. To get first-class combs they must be 

 built during the honey-flow. The frame filled with foundation is placed between two 

 old combs, either in the brood-chamber or super. We have already seen that spare 

 sets of empty comb are of great value in May, when they come in very handy to give 

 the queen more room. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Securing the Harvest. 



Everything needed for the honey-flow in June should be got ready in May, at the 

 latest. When a swarm is clustering on the limb of a tree is not the time to rush to 

 town for the needed hive, yet such has happened many times in the history of bee- 

 keeping. It is just as bad to put off the making ready of supers until the honey-flow 

 is on. One cannot turn the mill with the water that has gone, neither can the bees 

 gather the nectar that was in the blossoms yesterday, but which they could not store 

 away on account of the lack of room in the hive. Besides, they have learned to loaf 

 and to think of swarming, both bad habits from the bee-keeper's point of view. 



So be prepared for whatever may come, whether a flood or a failure. If you are 

 running for section-honey, have for each hive at least two supers ready, filled with 

 sections, and, in addition, have at least fifty more sections in the house. One famous 

 bee-keeper in an ordinary region says he has five section supers for each hive ready 

 every season, even if he finds them necessary only once in half a dozen years. Once he 

 found that number not nearly enough. 



When the flow starts the problem is to get the bees to work in the section supers, 

 for they do not take to it kindly on account of the restricted passages to which they 

 are unaccustomed ; often they will rather swarm than take possession. When a hive 

 has been so strong that the bees occupied two brood-chambers, they have learned to 

 carry the nectar above ; so if we remove the upper one — of course, making sure that 

 the queen is left behind— then put on the comb super, it is probable the honey will be 

 stored in the sections. The upper division may be placed above a weak colony to 

 strengthen it, or the frames of brood distributed where wanted. The flying bees will 

 return to the old hive. 



Bait sections are often used to decoy the bees above. The unfinished sections from 

 last season are kept over the winter, and at least one is placed in the centre of each 

 super ; more is even better. But if tlie honey-flow is not started when the bait sections 

 are given to the colony, the ht)noy will be removed and used below to feed the brood. 



