CHAPTER XVII 
THE PRODUCTION OF COMB-HONEY 
Comb-honey is honey as stored in the comb by the bees, 
the size and shape of the comb being determined by the 
small wooden box (section) provided by the beekeeper 
and the comb being sold with the section still surrounding 
it. The development of this style of package is readily 
traced back to a period previous to the invention of the 
modern hive. Formerly boxes were put on top of the box- 
hive or skep in which the bees built comb and stored honey. 
The next step was to make these boxes of a number of units 
comparable to the modern section and to compel the bees 
to build one comb in each unit. From this it was a short 
step to separate sections with partitions (separators) between. 
Purity of comb-honey. 
The purchaser of a section of comb-honey may feel sure 
that he is buying a pure product of the bees, since comb- 
honey cannot be adulterated with profit. It is impossible 
to make an artificial comb, fill it with syrup and cap it 
over so that it even roughly resembles the work of the bees. 
By the use of modern apiary appliances, comb-honey is 
produced that is so attractive and uniform in appearance 
that the claim is often made that it is manufactured. An 
examination will, however, show that no two sections are 
Note. In the preparation of this chapter, the author is indebted 
to his colleague. Goo. S. Demuth, for invaluable assistance. Mr. 
Domuth’s bulletin “Comb Honey” (U. S. Dept. Agric., Farmers’ 
Bulletin 503) should be read and studied by every producer of 
comb-honey. 
301 
