HOW TO KEEP BEES. 29 



THE HONEY CROP. 



With strong colonies the securing of the honey crop is a relatively- 

 simple proposition. It may be tersely stated as putting on the supers 

 and letting the bees alone. Put on the queen-excluding honey board 

 and the "super" on top of that. If the beekeeper is away much or 

 cannot see the bees for a week or more at a time, put on at the start 

 all the super room thought necessary. Do not be afraid to give 

 "too much." If the colony is properly strong it will use the space 

 as it needs it. If it is convenient, give the supers when the first 

 flowers open of the kind from which the surplus is gathered, as at 

 the time of apple bloom, &c. If not convenient to be on hand, then 

 give them earlier. 



Do not give supers to colonies which have not bees enough to fully 

 cover the combs of the brood nest. Better unite two such colonies, 

 making one strong one, and give that the supers. 



In producing honey in " sections " it is desirable to remove them 

 as soon as the bees have capped the combs in order to retain the 

 whiteness of the cappings. As part of the combs are often finished 

 sometime ahead of the rest, it is sometimes deemed wise to remove 

 the supers, take out the finished sections, refill the supers with the 

 partly filled sections and return them to the bees. The bee escape 

 board is excellent for removing comb honey as the bees leave the 

 combs quietly without cutting the cappings. Put on the escape 

 boards near night and remove the honey in the morning. Usually 

 only one super is removed from a hive at a time. If two or more are 

 to be taken from one hive or if the weather is hot and close, it is often 

 wise to slip nails or chips under the hive cover just enough to let the 

 air circulate, but not enough to let bees pass. 



In removing combs for extracting, the escape board may be used 

 and is especially helpful to beginners. If it is not used, the combs 

 are taken from the super or upper story one at a time, and the bees 

 shaken or brushed from them either into the hive or in front of it, and 

 the combs taken indoors. A bunch of asparagus tops or coarse grass 



