215

1926

In Southern SandsI have been

using Wired Foundation since it came out. I am using it now altogether and it is the best foundation on the market.

JW. Powell Mesilla Park New Mexico

~And Northern Prairie I am much pleased with Wired Foundation, not only because of the short time it takes to put it in. but also drealso because the bee's draw it right to the bottom, with no waste space and no drone cells.

B. A. Tedford

Vol. LXVI-No. 5

LE

Hamilton, Illinois, May, 1926

Monthly, $1.50 a Year

EAVING out of this discussion the important item of the actual preparation of colonies for the honeyflow, which belngs to another phase of beekeeping, the production of comb honey that can be graded may be divided into three parts:

1. Preparation of equipment. 2. Using this equipment during the honeyflow.

3. Care of the surplus honey. Preparation of Equipment Great losses are sustained by the beekeeping industry because the preparation of equipment is often put off until the time when it is actually needed. This pro

crastination even extends to the ordering of supplies, which is sometimes delayed until the last moment, frequently resulting in disappointment on account of some unexpected delay. The only safe rule is to prepare, during the winter, every possible item of equipment, so that nothing is left to be done in the spring except putting up sections and filling them with foundation. This, many beekeepers think, is best done as nearly as possible to the time when they are to be used.

To secure best results, standard supers with proper bee spaces must be used, and all new equipment purchased should be for 4x4x1% two beeway sections.

Supers and sections must be scraped free from propolis, so as to avoid loss of time when filling supers with sections. More propolis will be deposited on sections in dirty supers than if the supers are clean. When separators are cleaned, the good ones can be counted and as many new ones as needed purchased. It does not pay to try to raise comb honey without using separators. Care should be taken not only that separators are clean, but that they are not

E. L. SECHRIST.

After a very careful survey of conditions among comb honey producers, which took him to most of the larger beekeepers throughout the United States, Mr. Sechrist gives here a very valuable summary of the most important items in comb honey production.

warped, or bulged, or broken, either of which would result in unevenly built combs.

New, clean, best-grade sections should be used for all honey that goes into the wholesale markets. Those who sell their product on their, home markets can profitably use second grade or off-color sections if their customers do not object to

them; but for the city market there is no question but that honey stored in brown or buff or streaked sections, or in sections stained with propolis, is more difficult to sell than the same grade of honey in clean, white sections. Every effort, therefore, should be directed toward having all honey going into the wholesale market exhibit as perfect an appearance as possible.

These sections must be filled properly with thin surplus foundation. To produce honey of the finest appearance, full sheets of foundation must be used, and in most cases bottom starters are necessary. It is also necessary that the foundation be placed in the section always in the proper way to insure uniform finish and beauty of the completed comb. This means that always the cut edge of the foundation must be attached to the wood. The rows of cells will then run crosswise of the section, giving the comb a much better appearance than if the rows of cells run vertically. This is of importance, but it is not always done. The difference in appearance may be seen readily by taking two sections of honey of equally good appearance and giving one of them a quarter turn.

To promote the necessary uniformity and beauty of appearance, all sections should be placed in the supers with the dovetailed corner at the bottom.

After sections are filled with foundation they must be wedged or clamped in the supers so as to be perfectly square, because otherwise difficulty will be experienced, when packing honey in the shipping cases. Neglecting this point of having all sections square results in many sections being slightly cracked, either when being packed or in shipment. These hairline cracks result in slight

leakage, which disfigures the surface

of the comb, soils the section and case, irritates the broker and retailer and lowers the selling price of the honey and the consequent profits to the producer.

No other one thing so hurts the sale of comb honey as broken and leaky combs on the retailers' counters or shelves. Much of this breakage can be prevented by the use of full sheets of foundation and bottom starters and by careful squaring of sections in the supers, both these items being included under preparation of equipment.

The remaining item of preparation is that of paraffining the tops of sections after they are in the super. Paraffining Tops of Sections

This is an old practice, said to have been originated by Harry R. Warren, of Nevada. While it is largely used in the West, and to a limited extent in the East, it has not come into general use. It is of such great importance, both to the beekeeper and in promoting the good appearance of cases of honey, that it ought to be universally followed. If paraffining is done properly very little propolis will be deposited on the tops of sections, and what is placed there can be scraped off readily, leaving the section practically free from stain. The cost of paraffining is probably less than threefourths of a cent per case, and the labor saved in scraping sections is worth much more that that. Again, used paraffined sections are practically as good, even though kept over for a season, as when first put up, not becoming dirty and discolored. Those who use bait sections will also find paraffining very valuable.

Only the best paraffin with a high melting point should be used. Paraffin of low grade discolors at a temperature too low to permit good work, and also imparts a greasy look to the top of the section. A pan of hot paraffin, of ascertained temperature, and an ordinary varnish brush, should be

provided, and a thin, smooth coat of paraffin applied to the top of the sections after they are in the supers and before they are given to the bees. The brush, when not in use, must be kept continuously in the hot paraffin. Just before applying it to the sections, it is to be wiped off on the edge of the pan to remove the drip, when it is given one sweep, lengthwise, over the tops of four sections. The brush must not be worked back and forth; that will cause air bubbles and make an uneven surface. Supers should be tilted to an angle of 45 degrees and the brush given only one sweep down. This procedure will greatly aid in preventing smears of propolis

over the tops of the sections. If the paraffin is at the proper temperature, and the work is well done, enough paraffin will enter the spaces between adjoining sections, almost to prevent the deposition of propolis on the upper edges of the vertical ends of sections.

Using Properly Prepared Equipment

To begin with, a good comb honey location must be selected. It is useless to attempt to produce a fine article of comb honey in a locality having a long, slow, honeyflow, or in one having several short flows separated by intervals of dearth. Neither should comb honey be produced in a locality where propolis is gathered freely, unless all comb honey is removed before the season when much propolis is being collected. Considerable injury to the market results from trying to sell honey having comb and sections stained by propolis. Lower prices are the result. In most markets dark comb honey does not sell well, therefore, the color of the honey produced in any region must be considered when deciding whether to produce comb or extracted honey.

For best results in comb honey production, a locality which produces an abundance of white honey should be selected. Nectar secretion must be rapid, as all activity must be very intense to produce a good quality and quantity of comb honey.

To assure the gathering and storing in the sections of this abundant supply of white nectar, the bee colony must be at its maximum strength, and the bees of the proper age for the work they are to perform. A colony composed of old bees will not do good work in building comb and storing honey, nor can better results be expected of colonies composed entirely of young bees.

Given a colony of bees of the right strength and age, supers must not be put on too early or too late. If put on too early, the sections are likely to become stained or daubed with propolis and the foundation injured before the bees are gathering nectar. If sections are put on too late, swarming and loss of honey will be the consequences.

Obviously, one cannot always put sections on exactly when they are needed. The solution seems to be to have a two-story brood chamber, or one story and a "food chamber." The bees can then begin to store honey in this upper story, or food chamber. When storing has begun, the upper story can be exchanged for two comb honey supers, in which storing should begin immediately. It is a common practice, under the old system of using but one brood cham

ber, for the beekeeper to wait until white wax begins to show on the top of edges of the brood frames before he puts on sections. This is too late for best results, as such a condition does not exist until the bees are crowded. They are then depositing nectar in the brood chamber, thus crowding the brood and starting swarming conditions. They should

even

have room outside the brood chamber to store this early, fresh nectar, or loss will result. This room is necessary, also, before the honeyflow begins, in order to provide clustering room for sufficient bees to occupy one or more supers as soon as they are put on. If only one hive body is used, it is impossible for it to contain a colony of bees large enough to do the best work when supers are put on. If all the bees fill only one hive body before supers are put on, it is useless to expect them to fill twice that space at once when supers are added. Now, since sections are not to be put on before the honeyflow, nothing can be done except to provide this additional, necessary room for storing and clustering, by using a second story or half story, on the hive, until the time arrives for putting on sections.

secure

With properly prepared supers, with clean white sections wedged in tight and square, with separators to the building of straight combs, with the tops of sections paraffined, and with supers in place at the beginning of the white honeyflow, on only those colonies that are strong enough to occupy the supers fully and at once, rapid work in the sections may be expected and a fine grade of honey should be secured, provided that supering is done to correspond with the honeyflow.

Proper supering is so fully described in Farmers' Bulletin 1039, "Commercial Comb Honey Production," that it is unnecessary to restate it here. Adequate supering in connec tion with proper strength of colony and immediate work in the supers, as already described, will largely prevent swarming, which must also be controlled if good quantity and quality of honey is to be produced. Methods of swarm control are described in Farmers' Bulletin 1198, "Swarm Control."

With properly prepared equipment, used as described, the bee harvest keeper should uniformly filled combs, evenly sealed, with the wood of the sections but little stained with propolis.

Care of the Surplus Honey

All section honey should be removed as soon after filling as possible and before staining of comb and sections has begun. Some have insisted that honey remaining on the

hive a long time is better flavored and ripened, but this is questionable, as the ripening process goes on anywhere, with the proper temperature after the honey has been sealed, even after it has been removed from the hive. Any possible advantage in quality secured by permitting comb honey to remain a long time on the hive is more than offset by deterioration in appearance.

In taking off filled supers and driving the bees out with smoke, it is important to have the smoker always well filled with clean fuel, to prevent

ashes or soot from soiling the sections or combs. This is of more importance than is generally supposed, and much fine honey goes into a lower grade when it reaches the market, just because some careless worker has blown soot or ashes over the combs and sometimes into partially sealed cells of honey. The purchaser does not like sections with black specks built into the wax of the cappings, or even black specks on the surface of the comb. He is inclined to think it is dirt, which quite too often is the case.

Clearing filled sections by means of bee escapes is good practice when local conditions are such that their use does not cause the bees to cut open cappings of sealed honey. If the honey is well sealed, out to the wood, or if the bees have removed all unsealed honey in the row next to the wood, so that no unsealed honey remains with which the bees may fill themselves when bee escapes are put on, cutting of cappings is almost certain to follow.

Robber bees must be kept away from filled sections at all times, to prevent damage to the combs. This is necessary while sections are on the hives above bee escapes, as well as after they have been removed from the hives. Care should be taken to see that any holes or cracks between supers or between cover and supers are carefully closed, bee-tight, when escape boards are put on. Then the honey house, or place where honey is kept, must also be made bee-tight. It is frequently the case that a window screen is not sufficient to prevent robbing from a honey house. Most beekeepers have seen, at some time, a cluster of bees on the inside of a screen busy passing honey to bees on the outside of the screen. Comb honey has been cut and spoiled on this account, to the utter mystification of beekeepers who considered their honey houses well screened. Double screens are the remedy for this trouble.

As the filled supers go into the honey house they should be piled up with one or more sheets of newspaper placed between the supers. Any

drip from burr combs or leaking sections will then fall on the paper instead of on the sections in the super below. This paper will also keep out ants and dust. If any bees remain on the supers as they are carried in, the supers should be piled up crosswise of each other temporarily until all bees leave, otherwise, cut cappings may result from this cause.

In removing filled sections from supers care must be taken to loosen them in the section holders without

twisting. Otherwise many sections will be damaged by slightly cracking the combs. Such hairline cracks, may be overlooked when the honey is put into shipping cases, resulting in leaks and loss in transit.

Cleaning propolis from sections of honey requires careful work. By practice and by study to avoid unnecessary motions, considerable speed may be achieved. The special knives devised for this purpose will soon save their cost by reducing the number of damaged combs.

To secure a crop of comb honey which will grade well, the essential requirements are a location in every way adapted to producing comb honey, properly prepared and properly used equipment, and colonies of bees of the

necessary age and strength. The honey must be taken from the hive as soon as it is in suitable condition, and must not be damaged either by the beekeeper or by the bees. Such a crop of honey, with sections clean and well graded, will bring good prices if it has not been broken in transit to market.

Breakage in Transit

Comb honey must be well packed in order to reach the ultimate consumer in good condition. To secure the best prices, the surface of the comb must be absolutely dry on arrival at its destination. Utmost care in packing is the most dependable safeguard.

It is useless to expect truckmen and others to handle cases of comb honey with the same care that the beekeeper uses in getting it to his shipping point. Beekeepers might as well make up their minds to meet this condition. No matter how well the beekeeper or shipper packs a car of honey, provided honey is shipped in car lots, it has not reached its final destination at the end of its railway journey. It is removed to the warehouse of a broker, being handled several times by men who do not know how to handle honey, before it reaches the counter of the retailer. Most breakage occurs between the car and the retailer. There is no remedy but to pack the honey at the apiary in such a manner that it will reach the retailer with the comb surface absolutely dry. If it does not

do this, it not only must be sold at a loss, but that retailer wants to sell no more comb honey. Thus the beekeeper finds the market dull and the price low. Not until beekeepers pack comb honey so that it will reach the retailer in good condition can they expect a good price and low freight or express rates. The railroads must protect themselves; they will not give low rates if 90 per cent of honey shipments are followed by claims for damage by breakage. If the beekeeper will not pack his honey as carefully as the value of his product demands, he is bound to received low prices and pay high rates on the beautiful honey which he has produced and graded so well.

Although probably no other one thing is so important to the future of the comb honey trade as adequate packing of the finished product, proper packing has not yet been devised. The Bee Culture Laboratory desires to make as soon as possible, tests of various styles of cases and packing in the hope of determining just what is necessary to meet the difficult conditions existing in the shipment of comb honey. This work will be done as soon as funds are available for the purchase of sufficient honey to make the tests which, of necessity, must be rather extensive, and must be carried to the breaking point under uniform conditions, with honey of various grades and with various wooden and cardboard cases.

Novel Feeder

I use a quart Mason jar through the cover of which I have punched about twenty-five holes with a small nail about a size larger than a shingle nail. An ordinary shingle nail hole would probably do just as well, but I used the longer nail for convenience in handling.

Piling a few frames of comb directly above one another, I fill my Mason jar with syrup and fill comb by vigorously shaking the jar.

One side of a comb holds about a pint, therefore a quart can be shaken into one comb, as the syrup does not run out when comb is inverted.

Feeding by this method is almost too good to be true after going through the various other methods advocated. I use tartaric acid, about one ounce to five gallons of syrup, to prevent sugaring of the syrup.

Any bee man who has feeding to do should give this method a trial, and I hope I may be the means of saving some one a lot of grief.

J. A. Goodall, Idaho.