6o 



ADVANCED BEE-CULTURB. 



not, the sealed comb will be left undis- 

 turbed and the unsealed cells on the op- 

 posite side lengthened out until the space 

 between the two combs is reduced to 

 about 5^. If, in this instance, the sealed 

 comb is smooth and even, and in the 

 right place as regards the section as a 

 whole, all will be well; but, if it be con- 

 cave or convex, the unfinished comb fac- 

 ing it will be drawn out in conformity 

 with the surface of the finished comb. If 

 two unfinished surfaces, in the same stage 

 of completion, are brought facing each 

 other near the center of the super, they 

 will be drawn out and sealed straight and 

 true and alike; if they are near the out- 

 side, the chances are that the comb near- 

 est the center of the super will grow 

 faster than the one farther out, and a 

 bulge will be the result. Combs near the 

 center of the super are drawn out quicker 

 and finished sooner than those at the out- 

 side and corners; hence I place at theout- 

 .side those sections that are the nearest 

 completion; especially do I take pains to 

 have sealed surfaces come next to the 

 sides of the super, while combs the farth- 

 est from completion are placed in the 

 center. By this management all of the 

 sections are finished at about the same 

 time. Unless some of the combs are be- 

 ginning to show signs of travel-stain, it is 

 better to leave on the super until all, or 

 nearly all, are completed, for, as the 

 combs near completion, this matter of 

 adjustment becomes more difficult. 



When foundation is used, and comb 

 honey produced, "rightfrom the stump," 

 by feeding extracted honey, we have 

 none of this bulging, patching difficulty 

 to contend with, as the combs all grow 

 alike ; and some of the finest, straightest, 

 plumpest and most handsome comb hon- 

 ey can thus be produced that the eye ever 

 beheld; but I have never found it profit- 

 able, except by placing a few cases on 

 top, near the close of finishing up a lot of 

 unfinished sections, to give the bees 

 room, and thus induce them to seal up 



nearly finished combs, as has been already 

 explained. 



I know of only two objections to the 

 feeding back of honey. One is that "fed 

 honey" has a slightly different taste from 

 that stored directly in the combs from 

 the flowers. There seems to be a sort of 

 "off" taste, or a lack of flavor. This lack 

 of fine flavor is not very pronounced, but 

 it can be noticed by one who is experi- 

 enced in the matter. The other objec- 

 tion is that "fed honey" will candy much 

 sooner than other honey. When the sec- 

 tions are nearly completed, and feeding 

 is done simply to have them completed 

 and sealed over, the proportion of "fed 

 honey" is so small that the candying is 

 not a very serious objection. There is a 

 great difference in honey as regards its 

 tendency to candying, and it has been 

 suggested that thinning the honey with 

 water increases its candying propensity. 

 I have fed but very little thick honey. 

 The bees worked it so slowly that I be- 

 came discouraged and went back to thin- 

 ning it. I know that they seal it over 

 sooner when it is fed full thickness, and it 

 may hs possible that this is the better 

 way of feeding it. The best advice that « 

 I can give upon this matter of "fed hon- 

 ey" candying, is that it be sold early and 

 in a market where it will surely reach 

 the consumer before it candies. 



Taking one year with another, I have 

 secured about two pounds of comb honey 

 from the feeding of three pounds of ex- 

 tracted. With the right kind of weather 

 and colonies, I have done much better — 

 secured four pounds for five. 



The advantages of feeding back can be 

 stated in a very few words. Comb honey 

 is more salable, at a higher price, than 

 extracted, and if the latter can be chang- 

 ed into the former, at no great expense, 

 there are quicker sales and greater profits.- 

 The greatest advantage, however, is in 

 securing the completion of nearly finished 

 sections. 



