198 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



For the American Kee Journal. 



Producing Comb Honey— No. 3. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



In my last I st;ited how I built up 

 weak colonies, and left off where all 

 colonies were ready to receive tlie 

 boxes, so the next thing is getting the 

 boxes ready and putting them on. 

 The getting ready part I generally 

 work at by odd spells, during the 

 winter and early spring, so as to have 

 all in readiness when they are wanted ; 

 but as this is the time they are wanted, 

 I will give the way I prefer them, and 

 advise that none wait about this get- 

 ting ready part till just as the boxes 

 are wanted, because I gave my mode 

 of doing so at the time the bees were 

 ready to receive tliem. During tlie 

 leisure hours of winter and early 

 spring is the time to have all in readi- 

 ness, and they wlioare not thus ready 

 are often the losers of a good portion 

 of tlie honey which might be secured. 



But about boxes; what size sliall we 

 use ? As my mind goes back over the 

 past, I remember tlie boxes my father 

 used, made of rough pg-i'ich lumber, 

 of a capacity to liold 15 lbs., and large 

 enough to cover the whole top of the 

 hive, being perhaps 6 or 7 inches deep. 

 This honey was generally taken to 

 our village in the box, and there 

 turned bottom side up to exjiose tlie 

 tempting sweet, encased in the nice, 

 white combs, and I well recollect 

 with what pride fatlier would cut out 

 the nice cards of well filled combs, as 

 it was exchanged for the necessities 

 of the family. Later he used two 

 boxes covering the top of the hive, all 

 planed smooth and a glass in one 

 end, which at that time was con- 

 sidered to be all that was required. 

 Then came the Langstroth 6 pound 

 box; tlien the Alley 3 pound box; 

 next the prize box, holding 2 pounds, 

 and finally, tlie 4i.4'x4f4', with its 1 

 pound of honey. I often wonder 

 what father's customers would have 

 thought had lie suddenly changed 

 from the large 15 pound box and pre- 

 sented them with honey put up in 

 nice glassedcrates, filled with 1 pound 

 sections. 



To return, as I have wandered a 

 little in tracing the steps of progress 

 that have been made in boxes and 

 sections, we have to-day two sizes that 

 are generally adopted— the prize box, 

 which is 6>ix5i4x2 inches outside 

 measure, and the 4i^x4>4x2, known 

 as the 4i.ix4>4 section, the one holding 

 about 2 lbs., and the other about 1 lb. 

 The market seems to favor the 1 lb. 

 section, not only as to price, but it 

 sells much more readily, and while 

 the prize section goes begging a 

 market, the 4I4 style is all sold and 

 more is called for ; therefore it is 

 easy to see which way the future 

 points, as to style of section, but it is 

 not so easy to see how to change all 



pur equipage, adapted to the prize 

 section, and start with tlie 414 style 

 without a loss greater than the com- 

 pensation gained for the first few years 

 at least. 



One of our largest comb honey pro- 

 ducers writes me, " it is evident that 

 the 1 lb. section finds a much more 

 ready sale at better prices than larger 

 boxes, still a change of style as re- 

 gards sections would involve a loss to 

 me of several hundred dollars, there- 

 fore I cannot entertain the idea at 

 present." Well, this being the case, 

 shall we stick to these prize boxes or 

 try and see if we cannot find a way 

 out of it, and not cause us any loss 

 whatever. As I prefer the latter 

 plan, I will tell you how I arrange the 

 matter. At the JsT. E. Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention, in 1880, Mr. Thnrber was 

 reported as saying tliat tlie box which 

 sold the most readily with them was a 

 box SJj'xSi^, holding about i}{ lbs., 

 and that he thought the 1 lb. section 

 was as much too small as tlie prize sec- 

 tion was too large, or words of like 

 import. I have not his exact words 

 before me, but quote from memory. 

 This set me to thinking, and I soon 

 hit upon a box, three of which would 

 fill a case in place of where I used two 

 before, thus giving me a section G'^^x 

 3)^x2 outside measure. To test them, 

 tills last fall I placed them in market 

 by the side of the 1 lb. sections, in 

 Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and 

 other places, where I found tliey sold 

 quite as readily as did that section, 

 and for full as satisfactory prices. 

 Thus I had gained the desired point 

 without the waste of any of my fix- 

 tures. All the sections I make in tlie 

 near future will be of this size, and as 

 I can soon work out all my prize boxes 

 on hand, I shall have no loss what- 

 ever. Those using a three box case 

 can use 1 prize box and 3 of the above 

 style, or make their sections still nar- 

 rower, so 5 will fill the case, however, 

 I hardly think as much honey can be 

 obtained by the use of these small 

 sections as witli larger ones, still the 

 price and readiness of sale will over- 

 balance this part of it. 



After deciding on the style of sec- 

 tion we will use, they are to be filled 

 with comb foundation, if such is 

 thought to be profitable, and if not, 

 l)ut a starter of nice white comb in 

 the top of each box. I prefer to cut 

 these starters in a triangular shape, 

 about 114 inches long on each side. 

 Now turn your sections top side down, 

 hold a hot iron close to the box, and 

 after holding the starter immediately 

 above and touching the iron, draw 

 the iron out quickly and press the 

 starter gently on to the wood, when it 

 is a fixture. I then fill the cases with 

 sections, putting sections filled with 

 comb left over from the previous sea- 

 son in the center case, if 1 have them. 

 If I have enough such to fill two cases, 

 I place the two apart so as to set a 

 case having boxes with only starters 

 in them between. When I have 

 enough to do this, I think I am sure 

 of a good crop of lioney if such is at- 

 tainable from the fields, for these 

 combs are more profitable to an apiar- 

 ist than cash in tlie bank. With the 

 brood cliamber filled with brood, as I 



have shown you it should be, and 

 honey coming in from the fields, these 

 combs are at once occupied, and those 

 sections between and immediately 

 surrounding them, that have starters 

 in, are soon filled with beautiful white 

 comb, and a good yield of comb honey 

 is a certain thing, if the flowers con- 

 tinue to secrete nectar. 



Having all prepared and bees all in 

 readiness, the next thing is to put on 

 the boxes. I put on generally but 5 

 cases at first, and if prepared as above 

 it will be seen that 2 of these contain 

 sections full of comb, which are ready 

 for the bees to commence work in at 

 once. In about a week all are gone 

 over witli again, and if tliose first put 

 on are being worked in, more are 

 added by spreading those apart and 

 2 more cases are inserted near the 

 center and by placing a tier at one side. 

 The next time I go over tliem prob- 

 ably some will be ready to come off, 

 and in any event as many sections are 

 now given as can be worked in to ad- 

 vantage by the colony, which gen- 

 erally takes the full capacity of the 

 hive. 



My next will be swarming, and how 

 I manage when working for comb 

 honey. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



For the American Bee Jonmal. 



Pollen and Wintering Bees. 



E. L. BRIGGS. 



We have heard much of late, from 

 certain quarters, concerning "pollen 

 and bacteria," being the causes of 

 dysentery among bees, that if the 

 disease were contagious, I fear we 

 should all have contracted the malady 

 from over doses of pollen, pollen 1 

 noon, night, and morning, and by the 

 week, until we are more than willing 

 to dismiss Mr. Ileddon, and to put 

 ourselves, and our bees, too, on a low 

 diet of pure honey, and see if we can- 

 not get over the nausea we have so 

 long felt, under the doctor's doctor- 

 ing. I suggest that he feeds all the 

 rest of his pollen doses to his small, 

 dark, hybrid crosses, of black and 

 Italian " coming bees ;" and if it does 

 not kill tliem in the next six months, 

 then put them upon the market as the 

 toughest bees out ; on the principle of 

 the "survival of the fittest." 



Somehow our bees, out here, wiU 

 persist in living through this winter, 

 though their combs are full of pollen, 

 and though they have been breeding 

 quite plentifully ever since the 1st of 

 January. Something else besides 

 pollen and breeding, then, causes 

 dysentery. That something else might 

 be found in Heddon's " brick," made 

 of flour and sugar ; fed to the bees 

 dry. This might be impure, or 

 adulterated honey and pollen both. 

 Flour is not genuine pollen. 



Late last fall, two or three of my 

 colonies worked freely upon the skins 

 and juice of grapes which were being 

 manipulated for wine by a neighbor. 

 The result was, in the early part of 

 winter, while the bees were consum- 

 ing this grape juice, they suffered 

 considerable from diarrhea, spotting 



