COMB HONEY, TO PRODUCE 
S. T. Pettit that a perforated divider, or 
what is exactly the same thing in principle, 
the fence, when placed between the outside 
rows and the super sides, will result in 
Super for 4 ti. x 414 plain sections. 
having those outside rows of seot : ons filled, 
in many instances, as well as those in the 
center. The reason of*this is, that it places 
a wall of bees on each side of the fence, 
between the comb honey and the super 
Super for 4x5 plain sections. 
side; and these walls of bees, so to speak, 
help to conserve the heat so they can draw 
out the comb and complete the sections on 
the outside as well as in the center. 
COMB HONEY, TO PRODUCE.— In 
order to secure comb honey the colonies 
must be very strong—that is to say, the 
hives must be fairly boiling over with bees 
—so strong, indeed, that some of the colo¬ 
nies will be inclined to swarm as soon as 
the honey flow starts. But of this, men¬ 
tion will be made later on. 
There is not much use in trying to pro¬ 
duce comb honey, if the colonies are only 
two-thirds or one-half strength. In order 
to bring all of these up to honey-gathering 
pitch the reader should turn to the general 
subject of Building up Colonies found in 
its alphabetical order. Be sure that the 
directions that are given are carefully fol¬ 
lowed. Assuming that this has been or will 
he done, it is also important that there 
should be the proper proportion of bees of 
flying age — that is, fielders. A colony, for 
example, might have enough bees, hut an 
insufficiency of bees old enough to go to 
the fields. Many a beginner fails right 
here. The bees should not be younger than 
10 days or two weeks. It will, therefore, 
require that eggs that have been laid to 
produce bees for the field should be laid 
from a month to six weeks ahead of the 
expected harvest. 
If it is not practicable to build up the 
colonies by uniting, or if it is desirable to 
run for both comb honey and extracted, 
the medium colonies may be left as they 
are, and run for extracted honey, and 
those of proper strength run for comb 
honey. The weak colonies — that is, those 
of two and three frame size — should be 
united to the medium-strength colonies; 
for even in the production of extracted, 
more honey, relatively, will be secured per 
1000 bees from a strong colony than from 
a comparatively small or medium force. 
The medium colonies can he built to 
proper comb-honey pitch without uniting, 
provided the weather conditions are such 
that the bulk of the eggs can be laid from 
a month to six weeks ahead of the harvest. 
If that is not possible, it will he necessary, 
perhaps, to unite. 
Colonies that are very strong in the 
spring will build up faster, relatively, than 
the weaker ones; and these can sometimes 
supply frames of emerging brood and bees 
to the stocks that are below par, as ex¬ 
plained at the outset. 
In order that the colonies may build up 
properly in early spring, they should lie 
well housed—preferably in double-walled 
hives. If they are in winter packing-cases, 
as described under Wintering Outdoors. 
leave the packing on until settled warm 
weather has arrived. Cool or frosty nights 
will quickly penetrate the walls of hives 
having only a single-board thickness. This 
necessarily cuts down the brood-rearing, 
and consequently reduces the amount of 
honey, either comb or extracted, that will 
he secured. 
There should also he a liberal supply of 
stores in the hives the previous fall, not 
only to prevent starvation, but to make 
brood-rearing possible. If the supply is 
scant, the amount of brood and bees in the 
