The Production of Comb Honey 89 



up four cases high. With an\- system in which the sections are finished 

 close to the brood-nest, their removal is necessary soon after comple- 

 tion, to prevent their being soiled or "travel-stained" by the bees passing 

 over them directly from the brood-nest ; but with the tiering-up system 

 the finished combs are so far from the brood-nest that they remain 

 unsullied until a wliole case can be removed at once. During a regular 

 "honey-shower," such as we have sometimes, when the nectar all but 

 drips from the fragrant golden blossoms of the linden, I have seen a 

 colony draw out the foundation in twenty-eight sections and fill them full 

 of honey (and here is where I believe foundation is very valuable) in 

 less than three days, yet scarcely a cell would be sealed. To give the 

 bees another super next the hive is the work of only a moment. At 

 such times it may be advisable to remove the upper case, after they 

 have been tiered up three high, even if there are one or two unfinished 

 sections in each corner ; and, when crating, have an empty super at 

 hand in which to put the unfinished sections ; and when it is full, placs 

 it on a hive. 



When a super is ready to come oil, there is no easier or less 

 troublesome method of freeing it from bees than by the use of a Porter 

 bee-escape, which consists of a tin frame-work or box, inside of which 

 are two delicate brass springs so nicely adjusted that a bee can easily 

 squeeze out between their points, but can not return. Openings in the 

 upper and lower sides of the box allow the bees to pass through. The 

 escape is fastened into an opening cut in the center of a thin board the 

 size of the top of the hive, a % rim around its edge holding the super 

 bee-space above the board. To, use the escape, simply raise the upper 

 super, lay the escape-board upon the top of the next lower super, replace 

 the removed super upon the top of the escape-board, and the work is 

 done so far as the bee-keeper is concerned. The bees, finding them- 

 selves shut off from the rest of the hive, become excited and make 

 frantic' efforts to escape. Finding one opening by means of which they 

 can reach "home" they crowd through as fast as possible, when, in a 

 few hours, the super is free of bees. If escapes are put on at evening, 

 the supers above them will be free of bees in the morning. 



If there is not time to use escapes, or if, for some rea?on, it is 

 not desirable to use them, the supers can be freed of bees by other 

 methods. ^\y practice has been as follows: Have the smoker in good 

 trim ; take off the cover and drive a perfect deluge of smoke down 

 among the bees. This starts them out of the combs at a lively rate, 

 and before they have time to come back I have the super off the hive. 

 The super is then tremulously shaken in front of the hive until most 

 of the remaining bees are dislodged, when it is taken to the honey-house 

 and set on end. In a short time the few straggling bees leave the 



