THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
141 
very similar arrangement, in which the rod is 
worked vertically, by means of a point at the 
lower end, which is steadied by a hole in the 
floor, and the tin receptacle rotates horizont- 
ally, is now advertised and sold under the 
name of “The Little Wonder.” One or two 
improvised and economical forms of this, 
made from kerosene tins and common wire 
netting, have been exhibited at our local 
Associations. These simple arrangements are 
effective, and do their work well ; still, it is 
at the cost of a good deal of labour, which, 
however would be much reduced if, instead of 
one comb and receptacle, we had another 
exactly opposite to it to balance it. This is 
what is done in the ordinary Extractor : the 
comb basket carries a comb or frame on each 
side of the spindle, and if these combs are 
about equal in weight, the labor of turning 
is very slight ; but it increases with a dis- 
agreeable vibration if the weight of the 
two combs or frames differ much one from 
another. 
(To be continued.) 
Extracts from jforcton journals. 
COMB IN SECTIONS: WHOLE SHEETS 
OF FOUNDATION AND STARTERS. 
British Bee Journal. 
All advanced beekeepers are fully cog- 
nisant of the utility of having a good sup- 
ply of sections, filled or partially filled 
with comb, ready for the coming season. 
These sections are as a rule the residue of the 
previous year’s harvest. When the racks are 
removed from off the hives, preparatory to 
putting the bees into winter quarters, quite a 
number of the sections will be found to be 
partially filled, mostly, though not always, 
with honey of poor quality. This is extracted, 
the sections returned to the hives for the bees 
to clear out. They are then carefully packed 
away, and brought out again when the time 
has arrived for the racks to lie placed upon the 
hives. The plau of “tiering up," which is 
quite a modern — even in the bee world where 
everything is modern — system of obtaining 
honey, gives a much larger number of these 
unfinished sections than the plan before 
adopted of using but one nick, removing the 
full sections and replacing with empties ; 
hence at the commencement of the following 
season, when the first rack is placed oil the 
hive, the beekeeper will most likely fill this 
with these partially filled sections, with the 
result of having a very irregular lot for his 
first crop instead of being the best. The plan 
of putting some partially built combs in the 
first rack placed on a hive at the commence- 
ment of the harvest is greatly to be commended 
its advantages being very evident, but only 
inasmuch as it acts as an inducement for 
the bees to “go up” in the supers— nothing 
more. This inducement can be easily proved 
by filling some sections with comb and others 
with foundation, and giving them to the bees ; 
those filled with comb will be rapidly occupied 
while for some time little attention is paid to 
the foundation. We find that when the bees 
once take possession of the racks they will 
never leave them again during the honey-flow, 
providing no swarming takes place or disease 
thins their numbers. If the racks are occupied 
honey only as a rule, will be stored in them, 
as a consequence more room is given the 
queen for her to fill with eggs. This gives a 
great impetus to the colony, and, unless more 
space is given, swarming will take place. 
'This large increase is just what is wanted. 
The hive is enlarged by giving an empty rack 
of sections, swarming is retarded, and we 
then obtain a greater amount of honey in the 
supers. It is my purpose to call particular 
attention not to supering and its various 
methods, but more particularly to the fact of 
sections being badly finished where partially 
filled ones from the previous year are used, 
and the means by which this can be avoided. 
This only applies to those sections which have 
been about three-quarters to wholly filled with 
comb, not to those which have the foundation 
(starter) just started, as little or no difference 
will be perceived in the finish of these. We 
shall find that the side cells of the offending 
sections are scarcely touched, which gives the 
finished section quite a convex surface. There 
is little doubt but that this arises from ripe 
honey being taken from the combs below, and 
stored direct into the sections. Being ripe 
this is sealed over as soon as the cell is full, 
the bees not elongating the same as they do 
in newly built combs, and a little later on in 
the season when unripe honey is being stored 
In these cases the comb-builders keep adding 
to the depth of the cells instead of sealing 
them over, the honey not then being in a fit 
condition. If we ran once start them on to 
honey-comb building they will continue to 
add to the deq th of cells until the opposing 
comb or separator prevents any further 
addition. They are then — the honey being 
ripe — sealed over. Where a comb is provided 
with cells much below the usual depth of 
honey-comb, and there being no opposing 
comb or separator, the bees will at once add 
to it ; and as they have once commenced in 
earnest so will they continue. All things 
being in a normal condition, therefore our 
plan is evident. All sections which are full of 
irregularly (convex) formed combs should be 
reduced until the cells are less than half-an- 
incli in depth, by simply shaving them with a 
sharp, warm knife. If' this is done the bees 
will finish them off equally as well as with 
foundation. It is a deal the best plan to place 
but two or three of such sections in a rack, 
the rest to be made up of those having only 
foundation. 
