Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-02-18
Securing Surplus Honey.

10 the FARMER Of the 2lst inst Is an arti-
Gle entitled I" How to Secure Premium
Honey" The method as given was, l be-
lieve to "put two large swarDs without
queens or comb into hive filled with empty
sectional frames or honey boxes and give
one brood comb at one side of the hive, and
before the queen Is hatched remove the comb
and give them another, ETC." Now, while
it may be best to unite two swarms where
surplus is more desirable than INCREASE, the
method here given would not. fear. prove
the best, especially il "premium honey" is
desired.
Iu the frst place it would be next to i'm.
possible to put two large swarms, or small
ones either without queens into an empty
hive" aud make them stay. With care they
might be united but it would be necessary
that they have queen or brood comb at
the time or they would not stay in the hive
except 10 rare cases. They might, perhaps
once in hundred times.
Secondly. should very much fear that
with SO strong colony without a queen,
aud consequently but little brood, that the
honey stored in the sectional frames would
contain quite too much bee-bread for "pre.
MUM honey" or even honey that would be
ft for market.
Pollen or bee.bread is used almost entirely
as food for the young brood, aud when a
populOus hive is quesnless it accumulates
rapidly. am sometimes troubled with bees
storing bee-bread in boxes even when placed
on top Of the hive and the hive at the same
time nearly full Of brood combs.
Another objection would be the entire
prevention Of brood rearing SO early in the
season as the eggs that would naturally be
laid during the first week or two would have
time to hatch and the young bees assist in
comb building to good advantage. Near the
close OF the honey harvest queens may with
profit be removed from the hive if it is we'll
filed with brood and mature bees, especially
if the queen is getting old. Would it
not be much more sensible every way, to
put the two svarms into hive already filed
with two or three brood combs, if you have
them, aud empty comb, and cover the top,
and sides if possible, with surplus recepta.
cles. 10 two or three days, if honey is
abundant. land it almost always is when bees
are swarmingl, the bees will have filled the
empty combs and be ready to store surplus,
very rapidly and Of course Of fine quality
The only objection to this way would be that
the brood chamber would contain too much
honey and not room enough for the brood,
but this is easily remedied by changing, at
the close Of the honey season, a few combs
with some other hive which has more brood
than honey.
This believe to be one Of the best modes
of securing surplus honey where increase is
is not desired.
BY the way. Mr. Editor, there was paper
read before the Addison county bee.keepers
association upon this subject, which by the
request Of the association is to be published
in the Register. Should you desire it will
send you a copy. j., L. G.
We should he pleased to give the
readers of the FARMER any paper on
bee-culture, which our correspondents car
recommend, and will make room for it as
soon as the reports of the meetings of the
board of agriculture are out of the way.I