103. The primary requirement for the production of section comb honey is a strong colony of bees. Much is lost in attempting the production of honey in any locality, no matter how advantageous the honey flow or nectar conditions may be, unless each colony intended for producing section honey is quite strong. It is a waste of time in any locality and under any conditions to attempt to produce section comb honey with weak colonies of bees.

104. A second requisite is that these colonies must not only be strong at the beginning of the honey flow but they must be so handled by the beekeeper with respect to egg room and surplus room, that if possible the swarming instinct will not crop out and the storing instinct is kept dominant.

105. Intense honey flows are ideal for the production of section comb honey. The secretion of nectar must be quite rapid if the sections are to be well filled and thoroughly capped over. A slow secretion of nectar may give a larger percentage of unfinished sections and many sections inadequately filled and not properly capped or poorly attached to all four sides of the section. Anyone familiar with the commonly accepted rules for grading section honey will realize that the prime requisites for fancy grades which will bring the highest price on the market, are well filled sections with the honey surface entirely capped over and firmly attached to all four sides of the section.

106. Color of the honey also has an important effect upon the salability of section honey in most markets. Even in a locality where one or more intense honey flows occur, it seldom pays to produce section comb honey unless the nectar secreted during these intense flows shall produce honey of a light color. A further valuable consideration is that it is seldom advisable to produce section honey in localities where the bulk of the honey granulates or "sugars" readily. Sections filled with granulated honey are seldom salable at a fair price and may result in prejudice against section honey on the part of users and buyers of the product.

107. One can scarcely approach the subject of producing section comb honey without mentioning the late Dr. C. C. Miller, who for years lived at Marengo, Illinois, and who worked out most of the widely accepted rules now used by all successful producers of comb honey in the United States. For his keen ability to get at the real principles involved in the manipulation of colonies for producing section comb honey, entirely aside from all his other personal attributes, Dr. Miller gained and deserved the title of the "Nestor of American Beekeeping."

108. Any colony intended for the production of section honey should be sufficiently strong at the beginning of the honey flow to fill two full 10-frame or one deep body. Having built the colonies up to this required strength, the second most important step is by the control of swarming to keep the colonies from developing the swarming "fever," and to devote their entire energies to the storing of honey without expenditure of time or energy toward swarming.

109. The successful comb honey producer divides his colonies roughly into two groups at the beginning of his section honey flow. The strong colonies will be used entirely for the production of comb honey and the weaker ones will be used largely to take care of the brood that shall be removed from these strong colonies at the time that section honey supers replace the upper hive body where two are used. It is never advisable to attempt to secure a crop of section comb honey by supplying supers above the second body of a two-story colony. By examination the beekeeper may determine which of the two hive bodies of each colony contains the most brood. That body should be placed on the bottom board. If the bodies are about equally well filled with brood, either may be set on the bottom board. Combs well filled with brood may be taken from the other body and added to contain all combs well filled with capped brood if possible. Frames removed from the body that is to remain on the permanent stand may be placed in the body that is to be taken away. In choosing combs to leave in the hive body on the permanent stand, it is advisable if possible, to pick those containing sealed brood to the top bar. In using deep brood chambers, fill each with combs of sealed brood, before giving comb honey supers.

110. After the brood is arranged in the hive body which is to remain on the bottom-board and before removing the second body of each colony that contains the least brood, all of the bees on these combs should be shaken off in front of the body that is to remain on the permanent stand. It is well to place a board or a cloth on the ground to shake the bees on because the queen may be with them and she must be able to get into the hive readily. It is absolutely essential that the queen remain with the bees on the permanent stand. At the time the second body is removed and its bees shaken off the combs, the hive body remaining on the permanent stand should have added above two section comb honey supers containing sections filled with full sheets of thin surplus foundation. Two comb honey supers are given only if season appears favorable for an average crop. We recommend two to give the bees of the strong colonies room to get in their hives.

111. Perhaps at this point it is well to explain the proper method of shaking bees off the combs. First use just enough smoke to keep the bees below the top-bars of the frames before they are removed from the hive. Take the frames out carefully and hold each frame so the ends of the top bar rest on the tips of the fingers. Close the hands over the ends of the frame. With a quick up and down jerk throw the top of the ends of the frame top bar against the palm of each hand. With a little practice this method is very effective in dislodging the bees without making them mad. It is well for the novice to practice this movement on empty combs before attempting to shake bees. In case you are timid and do not care to shake the bees off the combs when removing the second hive body, proceed as follows: When the second hive body has been removed and the section supers are in place above the hive body on the permanent stand and before the cover is put on, place a bee escape board with a bee escape adjusted in it, over the top super. Then place the extra hive body squarely on it with a bee tight cover over all. After this is done, and it is not known in which body the queen is, you should examine the two bodies four days later. In whichever body eggs are found, the queen will be. The body containing the queen should be left on the permanent stand with the arrangement of supers and brood previously described and the other hive body above the bee escape. However, one should hardly attempt the production of comb honey unless he is willing to learn how to shake bees off combs. See figures 41 and 42.