Nothing so complete and so worthy of serious study has been written on the subject of comb honey as United States Farmers' Bulletin 1039, Commercial Comb Honey Production, by Geo. S. Demuth. It is the standard text book for everyone who produces comb honey. In that bulletin, Demuth has said:

"There should be no restriction whatever in the room for brood rearing up to the time of putting on supers just previous to the honey flow, for a crowded brood nest at this time tends to diminish the number of workers available for the honeyflow as well as to encourage swarming. "

This is the sentence which ties up the Demuth Bulletin with the Clear Brood Nest System of apiary management. The statement was previously made that the use of a one-story brood chamber all the year, with a clear brood nest, was excellent for the production of comb honey.

The reason for this is that it fills De-math's requirement of putting no restriction whatever on the room for brood rearing up to the time of giving supers. This is the root of any success in producing comb honey and it will bear further discussion.

It was stated under Factor 3 in the discussion of the six essential factors in the production of honey, that in order to secure prompt beginning of work in the supers, it is necessary to have the brood nest so located in respect to the supers that the bees can follow their natural instinct to store honey in the closest possible proximity to it.

The brood nest should, therefore, extend from side to side of the brood chamber, immediately below the supers, the brood reaching to the top bars of the frames, with no space in which honey can be stored without possibility of removing it with ease.

At the beginning of the honeyflow the brood nest should extend all the way across the brood chamber, with no strip of sealed honey above the brood to prevent the bees beginning work in the supers immediately and continuing as more supers are added.

Even in the deep Dadant frames, this is important.

The central idea is that the brood chamber be full of brood with no room in it for storing honey there and that super room shall be provided in abundance. This is a factor of prime importance in the production of extracted honey but it is an absolute essential in the production of good comb honey, honey that can be graded, either in sections or in shallow frames for cut comb honey.

Comb honey as a main crop can be produced only by the right men in the right locations, but a limited amount of good comb honey can be produced profitably by almost every beekeeper. For the greatest profit, he should also sell it locally. Shipping comb honey long distances is costly, both in handling and in breakage.

The rough, knock-about methods permissible in getting extracted honey have no place in producing comb honey. It requires careful work and much attention to small details, as well as a steady flow of white honey. Only the very finest quality of comb honey should be marketed because all inferior grades must compete in price with liquid honey. There is a certain attractiveness and delicacy about honey in the comb which liquid honey can never equal.

Any beekeeper who has the right personality and the right location should produce a limited quantity of comb honey during the height of his honey-flow. Most beekeepers can do this and will find it profitable. When produced at this time, by experienced men, it should cost no more per pound than extracted honey. Therefore, any price obtained above that of extracted honey is clear profit.

This section, therefore, is not on producing comb honey as a main crop, but will have particular reference to the practice of producing 100 or 200 supers of fancy comb honey when it can be done at the lowest cost.

All the details of management will not be given but those points will be emphasized which, used in combination with the clear brood nest systems as already described, will give the beekeeper a uniformly fancy grade of comb honey at low cost.