COMB HONEY, TO PRODUCE 
235 
It may be necessary to use bait sections to 
start the bees going above. More about 
this will be said further on. 
BROOD-CHAMBER SHOULD BE FILLED WITH 
BROOD. 
Another important requirement in comb- 
honey production is that the brood-cham¬ 
ber be well filled with brood at the begin¬ 
ning of the honey flow, thus making it 
necessary that the bees begin work in the 
supers at once to provide a place for the 
incoming nectar. While the same condi¬ 
tion is desirable in extracted-honey produc¬ 
tion, it is not so essential as in comb-honey 
production, since the giving of a super of 
empty extraeting-eombs constitutes a strong- 
invitation to the bees to “come up stairs” 
and expand their work into the supers even 
tho there may still be some empty comb 
below. To a certain extent, the bees must 
be forced into comb-honey supers by a 
lack of room in the brood-chamber for the 
incoming nectar. Too often in comb-honey 
production the honey flow begins before 
the brood-chamber is filled with brood, 
and if storing is begun in the brood-cham- 
ber and honey is sealed down close to the 
brood, the bees usually enter the supers re¬ 
luctantly, being apparently satisfied with 
the snug and thrifty condition of having- 
sealed honey above and around the brood 
area as if prepared for winter. Under 
such conditions the bees sometimes act as 
if they had finished the seasons work, even 
tho the honey How is just beginning, and 
they often waste much valuable time loaf¬ 
ing even during a good honey flow. Such 
colonies are usually among the first to pre¬ 
pare to swarm. 
On the other hand, colonies that have 
their brood-chambers well filled with brood 
when the honey flow begins, should enter 
and begin work in the supers promptly and 
should expand their work into additional 
supers, building combs in advance of their 
needs so that, even tho they may be much 
stronger than the colonies which began 
their storing within the brood-charnber, 
they are much less inclined to swarm. 
This highly desirable condition in all, 
or nearly all, of the colonies at just the 
right time is not easily attained, and too 
often only a small percentage of them hap¬ 
pen to be just right in this respect when 
the honey flow begins; for it means that 
just at the beginning of the honey flow 
the colonies must have consumed practical¬ 
ly all of the honey that had been stored 
within the brood-chamber for winter and 
spring, and at the same time must reach 
their maximum in brood-rearing. Colonies 
that happen to be in this condition just 
at the right time are usually the ones which 
work in the supers with the greatest energy 
and give the least trouble from swarming. 
To find the proper size for a brood-cham¬ 
ber that would hold just enough honey to 
carry the colony up to the beginning of 
the honey flow (at which time the honey 
should be practically all used up and the 
combs of the ln’ood-chamber almost com¬ 
pletely filled with brood) has been the 
dream of comb-honey producers for years. 
But the great variation in the way the bees 
come thru the winter, the variation in the 
amount of honey stored previous to the 
main honey flow from minor sources, and 
the variation in the time of the beginning 
of the honey flow have prevented the at¬ 
tainment of this goal. 
Many comb-honey producers who have 
an equipment of 8-frame hives use two 
stories previous to the honey flow, to pro¬ 
vide sufficient room for extra stores and 
brood-rearing, permitting the' queen the 
free range of both stones. When the 
honey flow begins the hives are reduced to 
a single story by taking away most of the 
honey and leaving most of the brood. At 
the same time two comb-honey supers are 
usually given so that the total hive capac¬ 
ity is not reduced. 
The combs that were removed (which 
may contain considerable honey and brood) 
are then given to other colonies, which need 
not be strong and which are not used for 
comb-honey production, where they are to 
be refilled with honey as the brood emerges, 
then put back upon the hives again after 
the comb-honey supers have been removed 
at the close of the season. The hive-bodies 
containing the combs that were removed 
may be piled six or seven high on top of 
weaker colonies. These “piles” soon be¬ 
come powerful colonies because of the 
large amount of emerging brood. 
While this involves considerable labor it 
puts the colonies in excellent condition to 
begin work immediately in the comb-honev 
supers, ft is open to the objection that 
