58 
DR. MILLER S 
these unfinished sections are massed together and given back to 
the bees to be finished. At one time, 'when I used wide frames to 
hold sections, my practice was to raise a brood-comb from the 
brood-chamber and put it between two frames of sections in the 
upper story, so as to induce the bees to begin work promptly. It 
was very successful in getting the bees to darken the capping of 
the sections, for they would carry bits of dark old brood-comb 
across to 'use on the sections, making them dark before ever the 
capping was finished. You will probably find that a thin top-bar 
will help to darken sections, because it allows them to be nearer 
the brood-combs. On that account a top-bar seven-eighths of an 
inch thick is desirable. You may also find more trouble with shal- 
low brood-cotnbs than the deeper ones. 
The above refers to the color of the cappings. The honey itself 
may have been dark, perhaps honey-dew. There is no known 
process to change its color. As to bleaching tlje surface, some 
have reported success by simply exposing it to the light. A south 
exposure, allowing direct rays of the sun to shine upon the sec- 
tions will work more rapidly than a north exposure, but care must 
be taken with a southern exposure, for in a place too confined, 
and with sections too near the glass, the heat might be so great 
as to melt the comb. 
Comb Honey, Producing. — Q. Give the best method of working 
for comb-honey where the principal, and you might say all the 
honey-flow, comes between May 1 and IS. (Arkansas.) 
A. The only special thing in such a case is to do your best to 
have all colonies strong early enough for the harvest. You will 
find that early in the season some colonies will be much stronger 
than others, and that the weaker colonies will be very slow about 
building up. Suppose you have some colonies with eight frames 
of brood, some with seven, some with six, some with five, some 
with four and others weaker still. You can take brood from any 
colony that has more than five frames, enough to reduce it to five 
frames of brood. Now, don’t bestow that brood indiscriminately 
to the weaker colonies, but let the weakest wait till the last. Give 
a frame to each colony that has only four, and when these are 
all supplied, then help those that have only three, and so on. If 
all cannot be brought up in time, let it be the weakest ones that 
are neglected. 
Comb Honey, Removing. — Q. Do you leave your comb honev 
all on the hive until the honey season is over, or do you take il 
off as fast as finished? 
