50 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



atmosphere. Where the apiarist is so situated, he will 

 find it a very safe plan to permit th^ capping of the honey 

 to entend over the entire comb-face before removing it 

 from the hives. Even then, the honey "in the wet 

 districts" is of a rather thin cliaracter ; in fact it is almost 

 impossible to attain the density of honey gathered from 

 inland and central districts. 



The top of the hive is, of course, the warmest place, 

 and so the honey placed there ripens first. Hence we see 

 the cappings along the tops of the frames advancing 

 slowly toward the bottom-bars. Nectar, when first 

 gathered from the flowers is very thin, and requires the 

 heat of the hive for some little time to thoroughly ripen 

 it, so that it will keep without fermenting. In very dry 

 and hot localities the nectar ripens quickly, and the combs 

 are ready to extract when the capping covers approxi- 

 mately half the comb-face. 



There are machines on the market for ripening honey, 

 but the majority of bee-keepers leave the honey on the 

 hives in preference to the artificial process. At times 

 the honey-flow is so heavy that the super is soon filled 

 with unsealed honey. If the bee-farmer now neglects to 

 supply further storage room the bees will almost invari- 

 ably stoi'e honey in the brood-combs and crowd the queen 

 for egg room. (This is the prime cause of swarming at 

 any season of the year). It also causes the bees to build 

 a number of burr combs on the tops, sides, and bottoms 

 of frames, making their removal a test of patience. 

 Should the bees fill the super before any of the honey 

 is ripe it is advisable to furnish yet another hive-body 

 of foundation. 



After opening the hive remove every second super- 

 comb of honey, and substitute frames of foundation. The 

 extra body, or super No. 2, is now placed on top, and 

 the combs and frames of foundation alternated as in 

 super No. 1. This makes the colony three stories high. 

 By working on these lines, the bees are supplied with 

 plenty of room and their energies are turned to comb- 



