The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-06-07

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is the practical, progressive farmer who keeps his
bees in improved boxes and is anxious to know
just how he may get the most out of them with a
reasonable amount of attention and care. / wish
to emphasize, that to successfully manipulate
your bees an improved, movable frame box is in
dispensable. Of course there are different patents
some intended for the production of extracted
honey exclusively, and some for comb-honey; and,
again, some may be used for both. AS my
speciality is a fine grade of comb-honey, my sug-
g~estions will be along this line. A good comb
honey box should be so constructed that the brood
chamber will hold not more than ten frames, and
these frame should not be over seven or seven and
one-half inches deep. A good queen will fill these
ten frames with brood, thus necessitating the bees
taking all, or nearly all, the surplus honey above
into the super; not because they wish to do SO
especially, but because they are necessarily COM
PEELED to do so for lack of storage room below.
This is just what the operator wants. He wants
it above, where he can take it off at his pleasure.
Below, in the brood frames, it is not worth a
cent to him; above, in shallow frames or honey
boxes, it is worth anywhere from ten to twenty
cents a pound to him. See?
But don't understand me to say that all that
is necessary to procure a fine crop of honey is to
have a shallow frame hive. Not all. The hive
is only one link in the chain, the bees another,
and you still another. These are the three links
that form the chain of successful bee-keeping.
The hive is all right, and SO are the bees, but
unless you do your part, failure will be the result.
You must have a good stock of bees. Your
queens must be young and prolific. There is as
much difference in the stock of bees as there is
horses, cows or fowls; though few that keep bees
on the farm seem to know this fact. IF you
keep the common native bee and wish to Italianize
them, this can be very easily done if you use 8
movable frame box. After keeping bees and
working In them for several years, I am now
in a position to speak from practical experience
During this time / have p~racticed with more
or less success, many different methods of pro.
curing comb honey. The method which I now
practice / think about the best for the average
bee-keeper. l proceed in this way: About the
middle of April / begin to watch my boxes very
closely. As they begin to fill up with young bees
/ watch them still closer. When they begin to
whiten the tops, or combs at the top of the brood
frames, / prepare a super with thirty-two one
pound honey boxes, containing full sheets of comb
foundation, or a super containing ten shallow
fve-inch frames containing full sheets of founda-
ton, and place directly over the brood chamber.
If it happens to be about the first of May when
white and crimson-top clover begin to bloom, it
will be but a few days before they will have drawn
this foundation out into full combs and begin to
store honey therein. Just as soon as they begin
Gaping in this first super, raise it up and place
another, similarly prepared between it and the
brood chamber, letting the newly-prepared super
be next to the bees and the first one on top.
When they have finished Gaping in the first one,
which is now on top, take it off, and as soon as
they begin Gaping on the one left, raise it up and
place another between as first. Continue thus