COMB HONEY. 



413 



placing hives containing empty combs, -whose bees died the 

 preceding Winter, or empty supers, over it. The honey 

 contained in the brood chamber, which is always placed 

 above and behind the brood, safe from pilfering intruders, is 

 now at the bottom, near the entrance. 

 The cells ' are wrong side up (flg. 

 172), and the most watery honey is 

 in danger of leaking out. Hence an 

 uproar in the hive, and the immediate 

 result is, that the bees promptly oc- 

 cupy the upper story, and store in 

 it all this ill-situated honey. The 

 result is so radical, that "reversing 

 bee-keepers" admit that their bees 

 have to be fed in the Fall, as too little 

 honey is left in the brood chamber for 

 the hives to winter on.* In the box- 

 hive times, the JEoUowing was already 

 the almost; unanimous report of bee- 

 keepers oil the results of ' ' revers- 

 ing." The recruiting and feeding 

 for Winter of reversed colonies being 

 considered too costly and risky, 

 the Apiaries were supplied every year with new colonies 

 bought^ from bee-keepers whose business was to raise 

 swarms to sell. 



" If you want the greatest quantity of honey, reverse your col- 

 onies; but if reversing was practiced everywhere, we would 

 diminisli the number of our colonies, and would finally even 



Fig. 172. 

 SLOPE OF THE CELLS 

 WHEN INVERTED. 



• In reference to this, Mr. Shuckeays; '* This is not necessarily true. Stop 

 inverting, and the frames fill just the same as they do in any non-invertible 

 hive, of conrse. I attach importance to the system in preparation for the har- 

 vest, and getting the worlcers started right. After that, the hive may be nsed 

 as a non-inverter. If you practice inversion weekly, the whole gather is 

 likely to be in the supers, and yon will be obliged to feed forVCinter. If yon 

 cease inverting abont the middle of basswood, you will have surplus, and the 

 bees will have Winter stores, provided the flowers yield honey." 



