304 
Beekeeping 
honey, and the beekeepers in favorable localities may find 
it profitable to increase their production of honey in sections. 
Advantages of comb-honey. 
The advantages in the production of comb-honey are 
numerous. As stated in the previous chapter, some of the 
delicate aroma of the finest grades of honey is lost in ex¬ 
tracting, but this is retained to the full in comb-honey. In 
the production of comb-honey by the small beekeeper, less 
expensive equipment is necessary. The handling of the 
honey is a clean job and there is an attractiveness about 
the product that makes the handling of it a pleasure. The 
wholesale price of comb-honey is higher than that of ex- 
tracted-honey, but the amount obtained from each colony 
is usually less, so that the return is about the same in either 
case. In a good honey-flow the advantage is with the 
comb-honey producer who uses proper methods of manipu¬ 
lation, while in light honey-flows only the producer of ex- 
tracted-honey gets all the crop. The section is a convenient 
package for retail trade. In this connection it should be 
noted that in comb-honey production the beekeeper pre¬ 
pares the honey for the consumer while extracted-honey 
is more often sold in wholesale packages. When extracted- 
honey is blended and bottled it usually brings as high a 
retail price as comb-honey, but in this case the beekeeper 
does not do all the work and the bottler gets a good share 
of the profits. Comb-honey meets with more ready sale 
in most markets than does extracted-honey. 
Disadvantages of comb-honey. 
Comb-honey ships poorly and consequently there is often 
considerable loss from breakage, on which account some 
wholesale honey dealers refuse to handle it. In colonies 
run for comb-honey, swarming is a much more serious 
problem than in the larger hives with plenty of empty comb 
space used for extracted-honey. In light honey-flows, bees 
