EQUIPMENT FOR COMB HONEY PRODUCTION 137 



Rapid flows like those that sometimes come from basswood, 

 when a single strong colony will store from ten to twenty pounds 

 daily for a week or two, are the delight of the heart of the comb 

 honey producer. 



Market Demands. — Most markets favor light colored 

 honeys, usually called white, which are of a mild flavor. As a 

 rule dark and strong honey will sell more readily to buyers of 

 extracted honey than in the comb. Where the market demand is 

 for dark honey, as in some buckwheat sections, this will make 

 little difference. 



It is a common thing to find an established bee-keeper chang- 

 ing from the production of one to the other to supply a ready 

 market. If all these questions are carefully studied in the begin- 

 ning, much unnecessary expense will be saved. 



If but a few colonies are to be kept to supply the family table, 

 comb honey is to be preferred under almost any ordinary circum.- 

 stances. Section honey is more attractive to most people, and 

 less expensive equipment will be required. The fact that the 

 sections are not always well finished will be of little matter for 

 home use, although very vital in marketing. 



EQUIPMENT FOR COMB HONEY PRODUCTION 



The question of a hive is touched upon incidentally in the 

 chapter on starting with bees. There is something to be said 

 in favor of using the particular kind of hive in general use in the 

 locality in which one lives. With hives of a pattern uniform 

 with those in general use bees can be sold for better prices and 

 one can make use of bees which he may chance to buy to much 

 better advantage. However, one can ill afford to use a poor hive 

 simply because it is in general use, as the best equipment makes 

 possible easier manipulation and better crops. 



For a time there was quite a tendency to adopt a hive of small 

 size for the production of comb honey. The eight-frame Lang- 

 stroth and the Danzenbaker hives were very popular and many 

 bee-keepers adopted them only to discard them later. The prin- 



