80 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



deed, when we are bending our energies to get many and 

 fine supers of honeycomb, we cut out of our hives all the 

 white drone-comb we can get. We prefer it empty, so that 

 it can be easily fixed in supers before they are put on 

 hives. As soon as such supers are put on, the bees go up 

 amongst the empty combs, fix them more securely, and 

 begin to -store honey in them ; and when such supers are 

 taken off, it is found that the clumsy work of the bee- 

 master has been hidden amongst the more perfect work 

 of the bees. These supers are just as beautiful and sale- 

 able as those that have never been touched and tinkered 

 by the hand of man. 



One year we made a special effort to get a great number 

 of supers of comb. When all our straw and glass ones 

 were filled, we went to our grocer and bought some small 

 boxes which he had emptied of mustard and other things. 

 They were about 1 foot square and 3 inches deep — just 

 what we wanted. He charged 2d. each for them. A small 

 hole, 3 inches w^ide, was cut in the bottom of each box ; 

 then they were filled as full and as neatly as we could with 

 combs (white and beautiful) cut from large hives, and 

 placed on hives ready to fill them with honey. Thus 

 more than half the work was done for the bees before 

 they entered these supers. 



In placing and fixing empty drone-combs in. supers 

 before bees enter them, the bee-master should not forget 

 that there is a right and a wrong way of doing this. The 

 more closely we imitate nature, the more likely are we to 

 succeed. All honey-ceUs dip to their bottoms ; they are 

 not horizontal. As combs are found and cut out of hives 

 they should be placed in supers. If they be turned 

 bottom upwards, the cells will slope the wrong way, and 

 be much more difficult to fill. Well, then, let the combs 

 be properly placed and partially fixed in the supers. In 

 fixing combs in boxes we begin at one side and finish at 



