228 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' MEVIEW 



more than two weeks — often not more than 

 one. The workers for extracted, with their 

 ready combs, get great yields in these few 

 days, and comb-honey producers can secure 

 the same large results by the same means — 

 having ready drawn combs to store the rush 

 of nectar in without delay in building new 

 storehouses. I believe Mr. H., when he 

 stops to think, will agree to this correction. 

 Again Mr. H. says : 



Two courses are open by which these unfiuish- 

 ed sections may be used to advantage One is 

 that of "feeding back" extracted lioney to secure 

 their completion, and the other that of using 

 them iu the spring as just now indicated. In tlie 

 latter case they must be extracted in the fall, 

 and the bees allowed to clean them up. After 

 this they must be kept away from dirt and dust. 

 I prefer to " feed back '' and secure the comple- 

 tion of all sections that are at least one half 

 completed. Those less than one-half finished 

 I would extract and keep over to ute in the 

 spring When comlis that are nearly completed 

 are kept over and used ov r again, tliey will not 

 have the smooth, new look of those just built, 

 or of tho'-;e that were not more than half com- 

 completed the previous season. The remedy 

 is to use the comb leveler invented by B. Taylor. 

 This very quickly and satisfactorily reduces the 

 length of the cells to the required depth, which 

 results in a smooth surface when the comb is 

 finished. 



Thanks friend H., for your kindly men- 

 tion of the ' Handy ' comb-leveler. I know 

 every comb-honey producer will appreciate 

 it after a fair trial ; for with drawn combs, 

 and the leveler to prepare them for use, I 

 can not only have the surface of the finished 

 honey smooth and even, but capping will 

 be as white and clear as combs built on 

 starters, and the white honey can be greatly 

 increased. In the present condition of the 

 markets, dark honey can not be sold with 

 either pleasure or profit. Gilt edged white 

 honey is where the profit is to come from 

 in the future. Mr. H. says, ' I prefer feed- 

 ing back. ' With my present experience I 

 could not be induced to fuss with the un- 

 certain expedient of feeding back, for I can 

 sell the line extracted honey I get from cur- 

 ed unfinished sections for nearly or quite as 

 much as the same honey would sell for after 

 being finished ; in fact, I would not have 

 them finished at any increased work or ex- 

 pense, for I should thereby lose the oppor- 

 tunity of using them next season with far 

 more profit a d less fussy work, and I am 

 quite certain Mr. H. will come to the same 

 conclusion whenever he gives the drawn 

 combs a trial in either a big or little honey- 

 flow. I agree that supers entirely filled with 

 drawn combs are just the thing at the begin- 

 iugof the white-honey flow, and I positively 

 know they are equally good near the close, 

 for I have, year after year, given the col- 

 onies cases half filled with drawn combs and 

 half foundation near the end of the bass- 

 wood, in which the drawn comb was filled 

 and capped ; and the foundation, although 

 iu the center of the case was left entirely 

 untouched. If I had sufficient drawn combs 

 I would use them exclusively during the 

 white honey season, at the beginning, middle, 

 and end ; and by giving the colonies, after 

 the basswood season is ended, cases of sec- 

 tions filled with foundation, in the way I 



have directed in the article, they will draw 

 out thousands of them during the fall flow, 

 which can be extracted, and the combs be 

 used the following season, to get as much 

 white honey as can be got by using starters 

 or full sheets of foundation during the entire 

 season of white and dark honey. The dark 

 honey extracted will, in such case, be that 

 much clear gain. It can be used with great 

 profit to stimulate brood-rearing the same 

 fall or next spring, or it may be sold for 

 manufacturing or other uses." 



I have never seen the necessity for using 

 two pieces of foundation in sections. Bro. 

 Taylor says that when a single. piece is used 

 it must not come nearer than one-half inch 

 of the bottom. As I cut and put in the 

 foundation it comes within about 3-lG of the 

 bottom. Sometimes within one-eigiith, and 

 I have never known the foundation to bend 

 or buckle, nor the bees neglect to attach the 

 comb to the bottom bar. I am at a loss to 

 understand why others have trouble in this 

 direction. I have thought sometimes that 

 it might come from the use of different 

 kinds of foundation, but, I, too, have used 

 different kinds and have had no trouble 

 from any kind that I have used. 



In that sentence where I say that "If the 

 flow should open very suddenly, or, at least, 

 become very prof se soon after it opens, 

 sheets of foundation may be as good as 

 drawn combs, " it is evident that two mean- 

 ings may be given to the words. When I 

 wrote it I had iu view only the point of get- 

 ting the bees started at work in the sections. 

 When honey comes in slowly, the bees have 

 to be coaxed into the sections, or else they 

 are very slow in starting. When it comes 

 with a rush, there is no time for deliberation, 

 the honey must go somewhere, and work will 

 at once be commenced in the sections, if the 

 brood-nest is full, even if only starters are 

 used. I agree entirely with Mr. Taylor in 

 thinking that drawn combs are ahead of 

 foundation, at least so far as the amount of 

 honey to be secured is concerned, at any 

 stage of the flow. If we could have all of 

 sectio 8 tilled with nice, white combs, there 

 is no reason in the world why we cannot 

 get just as much comb as extracted honey. 



There is one other point in my friend's 

 article that I wish particularly to commend, 

 and that is that it sometimes pays to spend 

 money — it may be that the more we spend 

 the more we will make. Even so good a 

 bee-keeper as Mr. Doolittle has talked about 

 the folly of our spending our money for 

 foundation when our families may have 



