A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to the Interests of Honey Producers. 

 $L00 A YEAR, 

 w. z. HOTCBINSON. Editor and Proprietor. 



VOL. XIX. FLINT, MICHIGAN, JUNE 15, 1906. NO. 6 



BaIb5?^°Mmclem^ 



-^W] 



A. K. FERRIS. 



niHlS subject has been discussed quite 

 T^ a bit of late, and I see some have 

 had success and some failures; so I 

 will add mv mite of testimony. 



In practicing- this method we should 

 consider that the same rules will not 

 apply to an ounce or less of bees that 

 will apply to one or more pounds. 



IMPORTANCE OF WIDE SPACING OK 



SMALL COMBS WITH SMALL 



LOTS OK BEES. 



In constructing' nucleus hives, the less 

 the number of combs, the greater should 

 be the room in which to cluster. For 

 instance, a single comb, three by five 

 inches, should have two and one-half 

 incl.es of space in width; two combs, 

 four inches, anil three combs five and 

 one-half inches, eic. This allows a 

 three-fourtiis inch space on each side 

 of the comb for tlie bees to cluster and 

 keep the little spot of brood warm. 



I had between fifty and two hundred 

 and fifty of these in operation all 

 through last season, and I found tney 

 reared brood all throug^h September, 

 and that brood hatched, every cell of it. 



If a person wishes to simply mate 

 his queens, and not keep them in the 

 nuclei more than two weeks, these little 

 three by five inch sing-le comb nuclei 

 work very well, even in the north. 

 But where a more permanent form is 

 desired, more comb surface will be re- 

 quired; for a three by five inch comb 

 does not contain sufficient honey to last 

 them long, and they become too uneasy 

 to make it profitable to fuss with them. 



Where a more permanent form of 

 nucleus is desired, two or three, four 

 by five by one and three eig-hts plain 

 sections make a good sized space for 

 each queen. 



I shall use both two and three frames 

 in the single form, iind also in the twin 

 form as seen in the frontispiece. 



ADVANTAGES OK THE TWIN NUCLEUS. 



I like thid twin form for many rea- 

 sons. It is quick of operation, gives 

 the bees comfort at all times, has a 

 feeder that is easily made and will not 

 leak or drown the bees, and last, but 

 not least, the queen has a contrasting- 

 mark in returning from her matinsf 



