REMOVING HONEY FROM THE HIVE 187 



varices, 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 



