20 _COMB HONEY. 
Securing Workers for the Honey Flow. 
Of course, the shorter the period for brood rearing previous to the 
honey flow, the more serious the problem of getting the colonies 
strong enough. Adverse wéather conditions greatly retard brood 
rearing and thus have the effect of shortening this period. On the 
other hand, in some localities the main honey flow comes so late in 
the season that the colonies may even be divided and both divisions 
built up. 
In most comb-honey localities the season is short and there is 
usually during the season only one honey flow that furnishes any 
considerable surplus suitable for comb honey, with perhaps other 
honey flows either very meager or furnishing honey unsuitable in 
color. The early minor flows are in such localities utilized in brood 
rearing in preparation for the main flow, and those occurring after the 
main flow may be utilized for winter stores, or if sufficient in quantity 
some surplus may be secured. In localities where the season is made 
up of a series of honey flows of almost equal importance and with 
sometimes a long interval between, the problem of securing workers 
for the harvest is rendered more complex, since the process must be 
repeated for each crop or the colonies kept very strong throughout 
the season. As a rule such localities are not the best for comb-honey 
production. 
The workers that gather and store the crop of honey are those 
that emerge during the few weeks preceding and during the first 
part of the honey flow. Unless it is of unusual duration, the eggs 
that produce these workers are all laid before the honey flow begins, 
since those which develop from eggs laid later are not ready for 
work until after the close of the flow. On the other hand, the workers 
that emerge six weeks or more before the honey flow will have died 
of old age or be too old to be of much value during the flow. Their 
services, however, are of great value provided they expend their 
energy to the best possible advantage in rearing brood. If brood 
rearing ceases or is greatly restricted during this period, a colony 
that has been strong earlier in the season is rendered almost worthless 
as gatherers, since it begins the harvest with old and worn-out 
workers. This is exactly what often happens unless the beekeeper 
is alert and provides conditions such that brood rearing is not re- 
stricted during this period. In the clover belt, for example, it 
frequently happens that there is a scarcity of nectar during ‘the 
period when the workers for the harvest should be reared and, unless 
the colonies are abundantly supplied with stores, brood rearing is 
greatly restricted. This may to some extent justify the saying 
among beekeepers that if the early flowers yield well the season 
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