60 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



The same may prove true to a much 

 greater extent of the one who practices or 

 advises " feeding back " extracted honey. 



It is sometimes an advantage to have one 

 or two sections of drawn out comb in each 

 super, as a help in getting the bees started 

 above ; but, beyond this, the fewer drawn 

 out combs used, the better. If a man will 

 partly fill a super— or, better, 100 supers — 

 with sections containing comb drawn out 

 the year before, and partly with sections 

 filled with sheets of freshly made founda- 

 tion, have these sections stored with honey 

 during a good yield from clover, remove 

 them as soon as all, or nearly all, of the 

 combs are completed, and then can honestly 

 say that he sees no difference in appearance, 

 or that he perceives any advantage, beyond 

 that mentioned, in using the drawn out 

 combs — well, I guess I shall be obliged to 

 beg his pardon for having formed in advance 

 a very unfavorable opinion of his judgement. 



If one is producing comb honey exclusive- 

 ly, one or to drawn combs in the first super 

 given each colony is sufficient. Ifraisii;.r 

 partly extracted honey, it is well to be pre- 

 pared to start all colonies on extract'^! 

 honey, should the season make it necessary, 

 not giving sections until the bees are ready 

 to work freely above. 



In the fall, as the season draws to a close, 

 give extracting combs instead of empty sec- 

 tions. It will be seen that tliese shallow, 

 extracting supers, interchangable with the 

 comb honey supers, can thus be worked on a 

 sort of ''double-back-action" principle 

 that lessens the number of unfinished sec- 

 tions in the fall and renders unnecessary 

 their use in the spring. 



The aim of the honey producer ought to 

 be, first, to produce as much honey as pos- 

 sible with the least labor ; and, next, to have 

 it in such shape that it will bring the high- 

 est price. 



Dayton, 111., Mar. 31, 1890. 



Having Plenty of Bees at the Right Time is 



the Greatest Secret in Comb Honey 



Froductiou. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



;'HAT COURSE shall we pur- 

 sue ? " to secure the best re- 

 sults in the i)roduction of 

 comb honey, is the very i:ier- 

 tinent question asked by "ye editor" in the 

 last Review ; after which we find a long 

 leader to direct our thoughts in furnishing 

 the articles that are to be published in the 

 April issue. 



After carefully reading over this leader, I 

 find that the greatest factor in the success- 

 ful production of honey has only been 

 hinted at ; and that is, securing the bees in 

 just the right time fur the honey harvest. 



Well do I remember, when a boy at school, 

 what a thrill went through my frame as I 

 read that sentence in the dialogue entitled, 

 "Remorse of Conscience," as given in San- 

 ders' old fifth reader, where Aurelia says ; 

 "Were my tongue thunder, I would cry 



Revenge!'''' In it there was something of a 

 soul stirring nature, even if I didn't agree 

 with the sentinient. So, now, I feel some- 

 thing of the same thrill go over me when I 

 say, in regard to the matter of comb honey 

 production, were my voice thunder, I would 

 say to every bee-keeper, get the bees in Just 

 the right time for the harvest. All else sinks 

 into insignificance beside it. Think of talk- 

 ing about the best races of bees for comb 

 honey production, when those bees come on 

 the stage of action after the honey harvest is 

 past I Think of discussing the best hives 

 with only a slight buzzing of bees in them 

 when the harvest is at its height ! Hives, 

 bees, and the labor of the apiarist, are of use 

 only as we have an eye on the field they are 

 to occupy. 



By a little better health, I have been per- 

 mitted, the past winter, to attend two bee 

 conventions, and I was greatly surprised 

 to learn that the most of those in attendai ce 

 paid no attention to securing bees at the 

 right time ; and I did not wonder to hear 

 them complaing of the crops secured. Where 

 no attention was paid to this matter, the 

 past season, here at the- East, was "one 

 which tried men's souls." 



In the fore part of June I wrote to one of 

 our bee papers that it would be impossible 

 for us here in York state to secure a full 

 croj) of honey, because the cold weather in 

 May had reduced brood rearing to such an 

 extent that, even with all the care possible, 

 the laborers in the field, at my apiary, would 

 not number more than one-half what they 

 ought during the honey harvest ; while very 

 little honey, if any, would, be secured by 

 those who paid no attention to their bees. 

 The one written to rather scoffed at the idea, 

 but the sequel showed exactly the results 

 that I knew must come. I wish to be put 

 on record as saying that the great secret of 

 successful honey production lies in the one 

 important point of .secHr/«;/ ^/ip ^t'^'.s in time 

 for the harresf. Space forbids my dwelling 

 at length on the different plans to be em- 

 ployed in securing these bees just when 

 needed, so I will mention only one or two. 



The first one is that hinted at by the editor 

 where he speaks of spring protection for the 

 hives. There is no doubt in my mind but 

 what such protection of the hives has more 

 to do with the securing of the bees than any 

 other one thing ; and when we come to add 

 to this the riglit kind of l)ees, those that will 

 easily yield to intelligent manipulation, we 

 have something that makes all the difference 

 between a good crop of honey and one that 

 is raised at a loss. While the editor and I 

 agree that spring protection is necessary, I 

 cannot help tliinlcing that his plan of giving 

 it is a mistake. Does he not know that nu- 

 merous dead air spaces in a five-inch wall 

 are far better, as a heat retainer, thau a 

 solid wall of the same thickness, and that 

 his sawdust packing is little, if any, better 

 than a solid wall ? After u^ing sawdust, 

 shavings and c!mtf of all kinds as packing 

 for the sides of the hives, I next tried fine 

 ptraw ; barley straw being my preference. 

 Comparing straw-packed hives with those 

 packed with other materials, I found a de- 

 cided advantage in the former. On cold, 



