CHAPTER IX 



THE HARVEST 



If the beekeeper has sufficient super room for the full crop, 

 there will be no trouble. All honey may be removed at the end 

 of the season. But if we must extract during the honey flow, 

 care is necessary to get only ripe honey, or if any unripe is removed, 

 to place it in open tanks to allow evaporation. 



As a general rule, when ext Tgft'no; f1i]^ino- tliP ffnm^ it will i.nt 

 be safe to extract any but sealed honey . However, here also the 

 beekeeper must use his own discretion. Very often he can tell 

 whether the honey will do by its density, by the readiness with 

 which it may or may not be shaken from the combs. 



Removing the Honey 



The modern bee-escape is a most useful appliance in removing 

 honey. It is almost, indispensable lo the comb-honey producer. 

 Since the use of the automobile has become so common, the 

 escape has enhanced in value to the extracted honey man as well. 

 It is but a short trip, nowadays, to the outapiary in the after- 

 noon, putting on the escapes so that the extracting may go on in 

 full force the next morning. In an hour or two, two men can 

 place sufficient escapes for a full day's work for four men, but 

 care must be taken in placing these escapes, especially if there 

 is a dearth of honey, not to allow openings in the supers where 

 robbers may find their way to the unprotected honey. This 

 will not only develop a serious case of robbing but may also 

 mean the complete emptying of such supers as are exposed. 



The presence of brood in the supers hinders materially the 

 effectiveness of the bee-escape. Similarly, if the queen happens 



67 



