Bees at work on a Section
It is often advisable when giving very strong stocks sections to work, to place a super of shallow frames immediately above the brood-nest, for the heat arising therefrom will often discolour the combs in the sections. In any case, to avoid this risk it is better to remove a crate of sections too soon rather than too late, for, in addition to the discoloration risk, it must be remembered that so long as the combs remain in the hive the bees will continue to add to the thickness of the cappings. As soon, therefore, as the cappings are sufficient to seal the cells effectually the crate of sections should be removed.
I do not advise the use of sections unless there is opportunity and facilities for the bees to fill these from one source, for sections never look well if they contain vari-coloured honey, and certainly the mosaic-like appearance consequent thereon is against them commercially.
The Care of Honey-combs.—The bees should be encouraged to draw out as many honey-combs as possible during a slack time in the beginning of the year. It means feeding the bees, of course, to do this, but, as brood-rearing is encouraged at the same time, the feeding is to good purpose. Honey-combs are a valuable asset of the bee-keeper—a fact that is emphasised when we consider that it takes from 6 to 20 pounds of nectar to produce one pound of comb. Great care therefore should be taken of them when not in use and precautions taken to preserve them from the attacks of mice, moths, and predatory insects. In winter time they should be stored in an old hive in a dry situation, and small pieces of camphor or naphthalene should be placed in the bottom of the hive and in a saucer over the frames.
Mildew, too, has to be guarded against, but slight attacks of it may be remedied by placing the combs either in the warmth of the sun or near a fire.
The Honey.—One very important fact to remember is that no combs should be removed from the hive until the cells have been sealed by the bees. When the nectar is gathered and deposited in the cells it contains a certain proportion of water which must be evaporated before the honey is ready to be sealed. The bees know precisely when the moment for sealing has arrived, so that to secure the honey in good condition it is necessary to await this final operation. The rule cannot be—and is not—observed by bee-keepers who are short of supers, for they are often obliged to remove one from the hive, take the contents, and return it to the hive fitted with new frames. This method of working is unsatisfactory from every point of view. Not only are the bees disturbed unnecessarily, but the flavour of the honey is not so good if taken too soon from the hive. Moreover, it is an accepted rule that honey should be extracted from the combs as soon as possible after it is taken from the hive, and if a bee-keeper is to be continually interrupting his normal work to remove and extract honey, he is giving himself far more trouble than is necessary if he is properly equipped.
It is, therefore, far better to leave the honey in the hive until the end of the honey-flow and deal with it as a whole.
CHAPTER X
How to Secure the Harvest of the Hive—(Cont.)
Extracting Honey.—The use of an extractor is a necessity to the bee-keeper who is working for profit, for chief among its advantages is that the honey can be separated from the combs without breaking them.