The natural purpose of keeping bees is to secure a crop of honey. All the details of the work have that objective either immediately or remotely in view. In most localities the surplus flow or flows are of comparatively short duration. It is therefore of prime importance to the beekeeper that his cup is right side up with care when the flow comes. His colonies should be at their maximum strength. They should have plenty of room both before and during the flow. Before to prevent swarming, and later in which to store the honey. The honey should be removed as soon as it is ripened and capped over. It should be borne in mind that not all honey is fit for table use. Honey that is strongly tainted with eucalyptus, pepper, tar weed or other objectionable flavor is only fit for the manufacturing trade. If any inferior honey is stored in surplus quantities in the spring it should be extracted just before the orange, sage, thistle or other high grade honeys begin coming in. In many localities the dark colored or inferior honey comes at the end of the major flow. In such places it is up to the beekeeper to get the high grade honey off before the grade is lowered too much by honey of off color and flavor. It is impossible to give definite information as to where and when all this should be done, seasons and flows vary too much. Guessing the flows is just one of the things which, like the prospector's hunt for gold, keeps the beekeeper's life from becoming monotonous by making it one long hunt for the rainbow's end. The ordinary practice in harvesting is to remove one comb at a time shaking or brushing off the bees. When no queen excluders are used, the queen sometimes invades the super in search of room to lay. Care should then be taken to see that she is not killed. Shake the bees from the combs within the super and not in front of the hive. Combs with a moderate amount of all sealed brood may safely be extracted of their honey without injury to the brood. Unsealed brood should never be run through the extractor. It will all be thrown cut. A wheelbarrow is usually used to carry the honey into the extracting house.

Extracting honey is a simple operation. (See "Extracting Equipment. ") The extracted combs may be returned at once to the hives. It is not necessary to return them to the particular hive from which they were taken if your bees are entirely free from disease. If you suspect the possibility of American foul brood then you should be careful to return all combs to the hives from which they came and in no case extract any honey from a colony known to be diseased. Plenty of supers and super combs come in handy when the honey is coming in at the rate of ten pounds net per colony daily. If extracted honey is being produced the extracting equipment should be sufficient to keep up with the bees. When the hive is filled with honey the bees simply have to loaf while the golden hours fly. Bees often bring in the honey much faster than they can ripen it. If they are provided with two or more supers they may keep right on filling the second while the first is ripening. Preparedness is just as important if comb honey is being produced. Plenty of sections set with foundations should be on hand. Give the bees as many supers as they will occupy. Take off the full ones as soon as they are well capped over. If they are left on the hive too long they will become travel stained. In removing comb honey from the hives it should be handled by supers not by sections. A few light puffs of smoke will drive out most of the bees. What few remain will leave the super after it is brought indoors. A bee escape should be placed in the corner of the windows through which the bees may leave the building. A favorite way to remove comb honey is to place the full super on top of the partly filled ones with a bee escape board beneath it. The bees will soon all pass down through the escapes leaving the super free from bees (see "Bee Escape Boards"). Comb honey must be carefully handled. Each section should be carefully examined Any that have more than a dozen cells uncapped should be returned to the bees to be finished. All adhering propolis should be carefully scraped off. Packing cases or cartons should be on hand to receive it. The sooner it is put beyond the reach of the flies and dust the better. The production of choice comb honey is quite an art even when natural conditions are favorable. It should never be attempted in regions that produce low or middle grade honeys. Bees will not make nice comb honey except during a good honey flow. Only strong colonies will produce it satisfactorily. Comb honey producers should have U. S. Dept, of Agriculture Circular No. 24.