722 Preparation of Honey for Market, [march, 



raise up the bottom edge of the rack and insert a small wedge : 

 puff a little smoke between the rack and tops of the frames, 

 then remove the rack steadily with a screwing motion, and put 

 it down gently on the " super-clearer " ; place a cloth, on which 

 a few drops of carbolic acid have been sprinkled, over the top of 

 the frames, and in about ten seconds remove it, the bees will 

 have been driven down, leaving the tops clear ; then immediately 

 take up the rack with the "super-clearer" and place them on 

 the frames. If this operation is carried out in the afternoon, 

 by next morning every bee will have found its way down to 

 the body of the hive through the bee-escape in the centre of the 

 " super-clearer," and the rack can be removed with comfort to 

 the bee-keeper and without disturbance to the apiary. When 

 sections are taken out of the racks while the latter are still on 

 the hives or full of bees, the disturbed bees will frequently pierce 

 the cappings in many places to gorge themselves with honey, 

 and wherever this happens " weeping " will be caused when the 

 sections are kept for any length of time in store. 

 • The full racks should be carried into a bee-proof room, 

 the wedges and back-board removed, and the centre section of 

 the exposed row taken out. Do not attempt to lift it straight 

 out, the result would probably be a damaged section, but tilt it 

 backward on its bottom edge, and when loosened it will come 

 away easily, as also will the two side ones. Sort the sections 

 as they are taken out, putting all well filled clear ones as the 

 first grade ; those not well worked to bottom and sides, and 

 therefore not fit for travelling, make a second grade, and any 

 only partially filled must be given back to the bees to finish, 

 unless the " honey-flow " has ceased, and in that event they must 

 be emptied by the extractor. Carefully scrape all propolis from 

 the edges of the sections and, if not already sold, store them in 

 a dry, warm cupboard, protecting them from dust by tying in 

 packages of four or six in clean paper ; be very careful not to place 

 anything having a strong odour near the honeycomb, or it will 

 spoil the flavour. 



If the sections are sold to wholesale dealers for re-sale to 

 traders, no further preparation is needed. To pack them so as 

 to travel safely, not more than from four to six dozen should be 

 put into one package, preferably the smaller quantity. Procure 



