REMOVING HONEY FROM THE HIVE 187 
vances, the honey flow ceases, and the weather becomes cool in 
fall. A three-eighths-inch entrance is large enough for winter 
and even that is restricted to from four to six inches in width. 
Ripening the Honey.—The practical bee-keeper will always 
provide a sufficient number of extracting combs, so that no honey 
need be extracted until it is fully ripened. A shortage of combs 
brings a temptation to extract too soon. Green or unripened 
honey should never be extracted. Some extensive honey pro- 
ducers are sometimes guilty of this practice. Not long since, the 
author visited an establishment where large quantities of honey 
are handled. A short time before a carload of extracted honey 
had been received from the West that had not been properly 
ripened. About one-third of this green honey was souring and 
working in the cans. Some of the cans had burst, and the whole 
thing was in such a condition as to demoralize any market where 
it happened to land. A few days longer on the hives, giving the 
bees time to evaporate it and ripen it fully, would have made a 
fine article which would have pleased the buyer, instead of caus- 
ing him to curse the whole honey business. As a matter of course 
it was nearly a total loss to the producer. Why men will be so 
short sighted is hard to understand. The fact that they can 
sometimes sell the honey and leave the buyer to stand the loss 
leads them to risk it again. 
Honey is seldom ready for extracting until the cells are 
nearly all sealed. Well-ripened honey can be kept for years 
without injury if properly cared for. 
Removing Honey from the Hive.—Escapes are used to 
some extent in taking off extracted honey, as described under 
comb honey. It is a difficult matter to reach the bees in the 
sections and to get them out of the comb honey supers without 
escapes. Most bee men in taking off extracted honey open the 
hive and lift out a frame at a time and brush or shake the bees 
in front of the hive. The comb is then set in an empty hive body 
brought for the purpose. Full supers of frames are then set 
aside and covered until a load is ready to be taken to the 
