tions for his bees to store their surplus honey in and this has to be done each season, if not each honey flow, calling for more time and extra expense, buying more sections and foundations. While if any apiary is properly, equipped for chunk honey (and the expense is much less, too, than for comb honey in sections) the expense is over for even a life time.

Then, too, if the sections are not removed promptly after each honey flow, the bees will smear them over with propolis, or bee glue, and ruin their appearance and glue them and the fixtures together so tight that it is almost impossible to remove them without tearing them to pieces, besides involving a lot of unpleasant work all during the sea

son.

So the necessary work for producing comb honey in sections is too messy and tedious for the average bee-keeper, which is eliminated in chunk honey production.

I do not wish to compare the merits of raising chunk honey with that of producing extracted honey, because it is as profitable or satisfactory and requires no change of hives or arrangement, and later on if it is desired to produce extracted honey all that would be necessary is just to purchase an extractor.

The bees build their comb and store their honey in shallow frames, which in chunk honey production is cut out and packed in vessels and put on the market as comb honey.

While in the production of extracted honey the honey is removed from the comb without cutting it from the frames, by means of the extractor, and is saved and given back to the bees and they refill it, and the honey is drawn out in vessels and sold as honey in its liquid state. The two ways of producing honey makes a fine combination and the producer is able to fill the demand for both comb and extracted honey. But as a rule beginners never start off in

bee keeping with an outfit for produc-* ing extracted honey, and if bee keeping proves profitable and satisfactory, later on they naturally drift into it, while at first they will draw back on account of the extra expense of the extractor and some other little necessary conveniences that go along with it. In other words, they will invest just as little as possible until they see what results will follow. So to this class, which is by far the greatest, chunk honey production offers the greatest inducement. The merits are soon seen and better equipments are soon given the bees.

A honey extractor is not necessary in chunk honey production until equipment justifies it, or until a much larger amount of honey is produced and put on the market, than the beginner or average bee-keeper produces.

Each modern hive is constructed with two separate parts, one called the brood chamber, or bottom story, and the other called the super, or top story. The bottom story is for the bees' living quarters and the top story is where they store their surplus honey, which can be removed. (I mention this for the benefit of the beginner.)

Any regular 8 or 10-frame dovetail bottom stories, or 8 or 10-frame shallow extracting supers, as sent out by the bee supply manufacturers, are suited for chunk honey production, and no changes are necessary where comb honey in sections has been produced, except in the supers, and this is not necessary where they are 5% inches deep. The sections and separators can be removed and the shallow extracting frames prepared and set in, which are 5% inches deep. If the comb honey supers that may be in use are shallower than this they can be ferred up by nailing strips around on the bottom edge of the proper denominations, thus forming a rim around them, and shallow extracting frames purchased for them.

So the change from comb honey in one pound sections to chunk honey in

shallow extracting frames can be made with but little trouble or extra cost.

The hive is the regular 11⁄2 story dovetail style, contains movable frames. in the bottom story, in which the bees build their comb and rear their young and store enough honey to tide them over winter or times when there is no honey to gather.

These frames should be lifted out, or at least enough of them to note the condition of the bees every two or three weeks during the bees' busy season and their needs supplied. If a colony runs short of stores, as a rule there are always some colonies which have more honey than they need in every apiary and by exchanging empty frames of comb for frames of honey and in this way keep the honey equalized among the bees, no losses will be sustained by starvation.

a

If a colony is raising no bees, it may be queenless, and by giving them frame of comb containing tiny bees every two or three weeks for a month or so, they will requeen themselves. Or if a colony has dwindled down, it can be built up by giving it frames of sealed bees from the strongest colonies and thus all colonies be saved from the depredation of the bee moth and large crops of honey be harvested annually and the amount of time expended will not amount to more than ten minutes every fifteen days. During the operation no live bees should be exchanged.

Now we have told you how to keep your bees rid of the moth and to keep each colony a life time and to reap large returns from them. I know this is coming in very close contact with bees, for nervous beginners, but it must be done or losses sustained and the task is small compared to the gain.

As soon as the honey in any of the frames is sealed or capped over it can be removed and put on the market, or it can be left in the top supers until convenient to remove it. But after it is capped over it should not be allowed to

remain in the super next to the brood. nest, for it would most surely excite swarming during a honey flow. Besides, it would hinder the progress of the bees.

If no swarming is desired, the hive should be elevated from the bottom by means of two strips under each side, one-half or three-fourths inch thick. This will allow a free current of air to pass under the cluster, which is best ventilation.

I wish to give the manner of preparing supers for the bees under the manner of packing chunk honey, where the most of such work is done.

This subject is taken up mostly for the benefit of those who produce chunk honey in a wholesale way and have to resort to shipping honey in order to dispose of their honey crop. For those who only produce a small amount of honey for their own use, or for their home market, we will give some information under chunk honey for all classes of bee-keepers. In packing chunk honey for the market it is first. necessary to have some strained or extracted honey..

As a rule, extensive chunk honey producers do not use queen excluders and by queens entering supers during the light of their egg-laying season, many of the combs are soiled and unfit to cut out and pack up as chunk honey, on account of young bees being reared. in them.

The honey from such comb is extracted, or if there is no extractor, it can be cut out of the frames and thoroughly mashed up on a clean burlap sack, stretched tight over a tub or barrel. The honey will soon run through and be ready for use. Here is where the honey extractor is almost indispensable, for the comb can be saved and given back to the bees and they will refill them and they can be thus used from season to season, and save the bees the great task of rebuilding them.

For the lightest chunk and extracted.

honey we have found quart Mason fruit jars the best vessels for receptacles. A small, neat label should be used bearing the name of the producer and his guarantee. This indeed makes an attractive package and will bring the top price of the market anywhere and sell readily. For the darker grades of chunk and extracted honey, two and three-pound large mouth friction top cans, and five and ten pound large mouth friction. top pails make the best packages and should also be neatly and attractively labeled, and a much larger label can be used.

The frames of honey should be placed on a smooth, clean board, about two feet long and 12 or 14 inches wide, then cut loose from the frame and the frame removed and the honey cut in blocks by running a knife through it as near as possible as long or as wide as the can, pail or jar it is intended for is deep, then cut in strips 1% or 11⁄2 inches wide and placed in closely, endwise. If the honey is cut up and thrown in the vessel loosely, or if the strips are not as long as the vessel is deep, it will leave the bottom when the extracted honey is poured in to fill up, and will spoil its appearance to some extent. In filling up the pails it is best to cut the honey in chunks as near as possible their diameter and place it in from the bot

tom.

Now, after a number of jars, cans and pails have been filled, enough strained or extracted honey should be added from the tank or extractor to finish filling the vessels. Then sealed up, well labeled and set back in the crates, they are brought in and nailed and corded up well with strong twine from four sides, then it is ready for market.

The frames can be cleaned up immediately and given back to the bees, so they can refill them.

But a full sheet of foundation, or a starter, must be fastened in them first. which can best be done by placing it against the top bars and running melted

beeswax down on either side of it. The wax can be heated up on an oil stove or over a lamp, and should not be too warm, but just enough to run freely or it will melt the foundation too much.

Fruit jars can be purchased most anywhere and cans and pails can be obtained of most any bee supply dealer.

Chunk honey thus prepared for market should net the producer from 8% to 122 cents per pound, depending of course on the grade. And it can be sold. readily on any honey market, because it is in neat and attractive packages and its wholesomeness preserved in a way no other honey can excel.

Perhaps the largest class of beekeepers are those who are endeavoring to have honey for their own table. Such bee-keepers should not have less than two or three chunk honey supers for each colony of bees and a queen excluder next to the bottom story, so as to confine the queen below in order to keep them amply supplied with the proper amount of storing room and just leave the honey on the hives in the care of the bees which will keep the temperature up on it and it will thus be kept liquified, fresh and nice and more wholesome than it can otherwise be kept. It is not best to keep honey about the house, for it often attracts insects, such as flies, bees, ants, etc. Besides, it is a messy job to keep it properly about the house, and often it will granulate or to some extent loose its wholesomeness. This is all overcome, if it be left in the care of the bees.

When honey is desired for a meal or two, just take a plate or dish from which it is to be served, light the smoker and smoke the bees just a little, remove the cover and lift out a frame of honey and cut out of it about as much as would be immediately used, leaving three-fourths of an inch of comb on the top bar so the bees will have a starter from which they will build the comb nice and straight in the frame. again. Set the frame and the remainder

of the honey back in the super and the bees will soon clean up the broken edges. As soon as more honey is wanted, remove it in the same way until all in the frame is removed; then start on another frame, leaving three-fourths of an inch of comb next to the top bar all the way to serve as a starter. And so on until all the honey in the super has been removed, then raise the next super below and invert the empty one between and use the honey from it as the first one, and so on through the apiary.

When the table can be supplied with nice, fresh warm honey in this way daily, it will be a luxury of the table all the year round.

During the winter the bees will go down in the bottom story and cluster and the honey can be removed without smoke. During the time of the honey flow the bees will keep building combs in the frames as fast as the honey is removed, therefore the bees should never want for storing room.

Now, it will be seen that all expenses are over when the hives are bought and no more work about them to do except examining the bees, as previously stated. So mach for the larger class of bee-keepers. There is another class who would produce more honey than they consume. In which case they

can sell nice, fresh honey to their neighbors and take it from the supers as they would for their own use, or they can sell a frame full or more at a time or maybe a super. The honey can easily be correctly weighed. If the frames are to be returned, deduct one-half pound from each frame of honey. If the frames are not to be returned, let their weight go in and count as honey and thus they are paid for.

If it is desired to carry some to market, just smoke the bees down out of a few supers, lift them off and weigh each frame, counting the weight of each as honey, unless you are expecting the frames to be returned. Put the weight. and price of each frame of honey on top bar and set them back in the supers and set the supers in the wagon or buggy, and when the market is reached all that will be necessary is to call out weight and price.

All frames returned of course, have no comb left on the top bar for a guide to the bees in refilling them, and a starter, or full sheet of foundation, should be attached to the top bars as described elsewhere.

There can be no better way to produce and market honey, for the host of bee-keepers who are depending on the returns from their bees for pin money.

HIM