THE- beekeepers' DIRECTORY. 80- 



out the sections, brush off the bees, carry them into the honey- 

 . house, darken the window and open the door. By the time the 

 bees begin to be pretty well aroused I quit, and resume opera- 

 tions in the evening or next morning. 



The best plaoe to keep honey till sold. 

 I think that my style of honey-house cannot be excelled for 

 keeping honey until freezing weather. It is the cheapest I could 

 put up to be bee-tight and weather-pro6f. It is a single-walled 

 room, 12X12 feet, and 8 feet high to the eaves, built of eight-inch 

 flooring, covered with two coats of red paint. • There Is a win- 

 dow ii» the south side, and with the door shut and the summer's 

 sun pouring in through that window, the heat is hot as you may 

 imagine. Into this I carry my honey in supers or on a board, hive 

 covers, etc;, and pile it up. At my leisure I pack it away in boxes 

 or empty hives in which to fumigate it and keep it from millers, 

 etc. Here, in this hot, almost air-tight room, honey ripens better 

 than on the hive. Now I know that many prominent beekeep- 

 ers dispute this. But, after having my attention accidentally called 

 to the matter in former years, in 1887 I made a, to me, convinc- 

 ing test. Nearly all my crop was gathered that year in about ten 

 days in June, the flow stopping pretty abruptly. I immediately 

 took off the most of it, finished and unfinished, and stored it in 

 the honey-house. It certainly had had no time to ripen on the 

 hives. In Sejitember, I took off the rest.' I wish that oppo- 

 , nents of ray view could have eaten at my table a few times. All 

 through the winter the difference was perceptible. No matter 

 whether sealed over or not, that taken off early was among the 

 thickest, whitest, richest flavored honey I ever raised or tasted. 

 That taken off later was much thinner and lacked tlje ravishing 

 flavor of the former. 



A caution right here. Leave at least a six inch space between 

 the honey and the wall or floor. That packed within that dis- 

 tance sometimes sours, always becomes watery and rancid. 



Prevention of Swarming, and Swarm Controllers. 



Most beekeepers would prevent swarming were it possible to 

 do so. But such a thingjs oije of the impossibilities and is likely 

 to remain so for some time. While natural increase is desira- 



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