The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-03-28
IN THE APlARY.


How the Beekeeper Should Prepare For
tho Next Season.
The first work is to get the wide
frames and sections which have been in
use the past season in readiness for the
next harvest. Scrape off the propolis
adhering to the tin separators and the
bits Of comb that are fastened to the
bottoms of the wide frames. ALI these
bits of comb should be saved, and to
best save them the sun wax extractor
should be close at hand, and all waste
pieces of comb put into it during the
whole season. As often as it is full
take off the cover and allow Old Sol
to get out the wax. and have II ready to
fill again.
All sections which are partly filed
with honey should have the honey ex-
tracted from them unless you think you
will need it to feed in the spring., as the
honey will not correspond in color with
that which the bees put in to finish out
the sections the next season. 70 extract
this fix shelf close to the ceiling Of a
room, put the honey thereon, and keep
the room SO warm that the mercury viii
stand at so degrees to 100 degrees for
three or four hours before you extract.
These partly filed sections if extracted
without warming would be ruined, and
the apiarist's prospect of a large yield
Of honey the coming season would be
much impaired also, for these combs are
better to him than money in the bank,
xvhnr, s7zod az sshoit oorfscpo
After the honey is extracted these
sections are to be put in the center wide
frame for each hive, so as to secure an
early commencement of work by bees in
the sections and SO the full sections
shall not all come off at once, which will
cause the bees to be loath to enter sec
end set. Fill the rest of the wide frames
with empty sections. each having a start
er Of nice white comb or comb founda-
ton attached to the top. To put on this
starter get flat piece of iron and heat
it. Hold the starter close to the top Of
the section NEW turned bottom side up),
draw the iron under the starter and i'm
mediately place it (the starter) in the
right position, and it becomes a fixture
After having your wide frames all fitted
as directed pack them away so that
they win be ready for use at moments
notice next June.
The next work is to get out material
for more section boxes, If we have ma
chinery, or to purchase the material in
the fiat if we do not get it out ourselves.
It does not matter SO much how it is OBJ
tanned as when it is got ready, for if put
off until just before the honey harvest
the result almost always shows greater
or less loss Toarrive at the number we
wish, if we allow 100 1-ponnd sections
for each old colony in the spring we
shall find the estimate not far out of the
way, writes g. M. Doolittle, authority
for the foregoing, in The American Bee
Journal. AS soon as the sections are on
hand furnish each one with nice starter
and pack them nicely away.
Next, we are to make or get what
hives we wish, together with more wide
frames, if we think more will be needed.
Fill all of the wide frames from the pile
of sections as before directed, put strip
of foundation in each brood frame and
pack all nicely away. This strip Of
foundation is placed in the frames as
comb guide, where they are not filed full
of foundation Mr.. Doolittle uses strip
three-quarters of an inch wide, and, to
fasten it to the frame, get out board
which is the size OF the inside Of your
frame and only half as thick, which is
to be fastened to another board little
longer, having q handle to it, SO that it
can be easily held 10 the left hand.
Now lay the frame on the thin board,
and then place the strip Of foundation on
it and next to the top bar Of the frame.
Now tip the board to such an angle that
the top bar of the frame and the strip of
foundation will make V shaped trough,
which is to be so inclined that when the
melted wax is poured in at the upper end
it will Immediately run down to the
lower end, which 1.-THE melted wax) in
passing along adheres to both the frame
and foundation, thus fastening the strip
Of foundation securely. Then there are
the shipping cases for the honey to be
prepared; shipping cages for queens, If
we rear queens for sale, etc.. all Of which
should be prepared during the wintry
days, so that when spring opens we shall
have nothing to do but to give our whole
attention to the bees.