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 
honevs, 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 cireum- 
stances. Section honey is more attractive to most people, and 
less expensive equipment will be required. The fact that the 
sections are not alwavs 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- 
