Comb Honey. 17 



The very best colonies are required to produce it; it is produced from the 

 best sources. In many places the crop is very uncertain, and it requires more 

 work and material to get it ready for market. 



The cost of prodticing comb honey compared with the cost of producing 

 extracted honey is rather hard to compute. It has been estimated that a 

 given colony of bees will produce something like twice as much extracted 

 honey as it will comb honey. I doubt that, if the comb-honey producer does 

 his duty. I am satisfied that more extracted honey will be produced, es- 

 pecially if the bees have combs already drawn. If the bees are placed on 

 full sheets of foundation, the difference will be a little, but just a little, in 

 favor of the extracted-honey be.es; .but given good, strong colonies and a 

 good flow, with some drawn comb in the comb-honey supers, I beheve that 

 the difference will be very little. The difference, I think, will be that the 

 bees will have to build up to the wood in the sections, and they usually leave 

 a little depression where the combs join the wood, while the bees on Hoffman 

 frames build solid, and of course will make the heaviest cembs. In short, I 

 think the bees will build nearly as rapidly in a properly prepared snpqr as 

 they will in a Hoffman frame, both being prepared with full sheets of founda- 

 tion. A frame of solid honey will weigh more, of course, than will a section 

 holder of four sections of the same dimensions, because the depression next 

 the wood takes off a little and the wood where the sections join, takes up a 

 little space. But comb honey is not sold by the pound; it ig sold by the one 

 or two dozen sections. I have never had a buyer complain of honey that 

 weighed as much as eleven ounces net. I have had them ask me if the honey, 

 was heavy before they bought, and of course heavy, well-filled sections are to 

 be preferred, but I have never been asked to cut the price on account of the 

 weight. I win say here that I believe the averager section I produce will 

 weight about 12% ounces net. I have shipped considerable honey weighing 

 ten ounces net, but have voluntarily taken one dollar per case off the price. 

 I do. not believe, as a matter of fact, that a cent was taken off the price when 

 it was- retailed. It costs more to produce comb- honey than it does extracted 

 honey, because of the sections and foundation thart must be furnished every 

 crop, and to this must be added the cost of shipping cases and crates in 

 which the shipping cases are packed. Last fall it cost me for material for 

 a case of comb honey as follows: 



Shipping case $0 . 35 



Sections ■•■:•: ^?^ 



Foundation : • • • .11% 



Crates (one-si-ith of the cost of a crate holding 6 eases) 20 



■ Total •.■ ■. *0-88 



The whole cost being 88 cents for the material to get a case of comb honey 

 ready for market. Calling a section a pound would make the case of honey 

 comparable to 24 pounds of . extracted honey. To make the figures even 

 we will say the case weighs 20 pounds, which it will weigh. To get 20 pounds 

 of extracted honey ready to sell it must be packed in, say, the 5-pound pail. 

 When cost and freight are added, a 5-pound pail will cost, or did cost me, 

 about 9 cents each, four 5-pound pails costing 36 cents. Say one can sell 

 the 5-pound pail for $1, making the 20 pounds bring $4. The difference is 



