COMB HONET. 419 



734. 5th. Preventing THE BEES from " propolizing."* 



" Propolis on sections is a nuisance, be the same little or 

 much, and a plan which will allow of the filling of the section 

 with nice oomb honey without changing the clean appearance 

 which they present when placed upon the hive, will be heralded 

 with delight by all, and give great honor to him who works out 

 the plan."— G. M. Doolittle, " Gleanings," page 171. 1886. 



We have shown (238) that bees " propolize " every 

 crack, and daub with this yellowish or brownish glue every 

 thing inside of their hive. This is very hard to clean, and 

 it can never be removed sufficiently to restore to the sec- 

 tions their original whiteness. 



" All four sides of the sections are scraped clean of propolis, 

 and the edges as well. It is not a diftloult job for a careful hand, 

 but a very disagreeable one. The fine dust of the bee-glue is 

 very unpleasant to breathe. A scraper should be a careful per- 

 son, or in ten minutes' time he will do more damage than his 

 day's work is worth. Even a careful person seems to need to 

 spoil at least one section, before taking the care necessary to 

 avoid injuring others. But when the knife makes an ugly gash 

 In the face of a beautiful white section of honey, that settles it 

 that care will be taken afterward." — Dr. C. C. Miller : " A Year 

 Among the Bees." 



To prevent propolizing, the sections should be fitted 

 tightly together, and as little of their outside as possible 

 exposed to the bees. The honey should be removed promptly, 

 when sealed, before the bees have time to do much gluing 

 (237). 



735. 6th. Securing sealed comb honey. For this pur- 

 pose no more cases should be given than the bees are likely 

 to fill. The second case should not be added until the first 

 is nearly filled. The outside sections, being the last filled, 

 may not be sealed at all, unless the bees are somewhat 

 crowded for room. To remedy this, many bee-keepers are 



•This word ' ' propolizing ' ' is nnanthorized by Webster, but it is needed 

 asatechnic word. 



