26 BEE-KEEPING IN WAR-TIME 



ordinarily, for that reason it is well worth extra effort on 

 the part of the bee-keeper to obtain a crop from this source. 

 In the north it is no unusual thing for the bee-keeper to take 

 immense trouble to move his bees for many miles to the 

 moors when the heather is in bloom. For this reason it is 

 necessary to use a special hive, in which arrangements are 

 made for ample ventilation when the bees are being moved. 



The stocks that are going to the moors are prepared by 

 rapid feeding, so that they fill up the cells in the brood combs ; 

 this compels them when at the moors to store all they obtain 

 in the supers. The supers, whether section racks or shallow 

 combs, are supplied with comb ready drawn out. The nights 

 are so cold at this period of the year that wax secretion by the 

 bees is well-nigh impossible; they can manage sufficient for 

 the cappings, but that is about all. 



When placed in position on the moors, it is usual to give 

 a shepherd or gillie a few shillings to keep an eye on them ; 

 they must have plenty of good warm wrappings, on and 

 round the supers, otherwise very little work will be done. 



At the end of the heather bloom they are taken home 

 intact, the supers being removed at leisure when they have 

 recovered from the excitement of the journey. 



Owing to the honey being so thick it is impossible to extract 

 it by the ordinary centrifugal method. The combs are cut 

 out, tied in cheese straining cloth, and put in a special press, 

 which, by turning a screw, applies great pressure, which 

 squeezes it out through the straining material, the wax 

 being left behind in the latter. 



If shallow combs are used, they have to be refitted for 

 future use with foundation and the combs built again; so 

 much food and time is wasted, the wise bee-keeper therefore 

 obtains as many drawn-out sections as possible. This is done 

 by extracting uncompleted ones at the end of the ordinary 

 honey harvest; no spoliation of combs then occurs. The 

 completed heather sections are sold as they are, while the 

 uncompleted ones are squeezed to provide the extracted honey 

 required. 



VII 



REARING AND INTRODUCING QUEENS 



Queen-rearing is one of the most interesting and profitable 

 branches of bee-keeping. The success of the calling ^depends 



