1910 



GLKAMX(iS IX BKK Cl LTl KK 



work in the supers. With unlimited skill 

 it is impossible to attract the bees into su- 

 per work so long as there are empty combs 

 below. In this respect all deep hives, if not 

 utter failures, are at least fundamentally 

 bimglesome. To contract the hives by re- 

 ])lacing some of the frames with wooden 

 dummies invariably results in poor filling 

 of the outer sections, and in getting them 

 comi)leted witli the central ones. Obvious- 

 ly, the only remedy is to contract from the 

 toj). without reducing the supering surface. 

 With a hive in which the brood-chaml)er is 

 horizontally divisible, the mere removal of 

 one or more of the liive divisions or brood- 

 chambers contracts it to the desired cai)ac- 

 ity. 



The divisible hives in most general use 

 are built to hold the common scjuare sec- 

 tion, as they were fashioned to fit the Lang- 

 stroth frame. My present one was built for 

 the modern 4 ■ o section, and. like one or 

 two others, the super was first considered in 

 l)lanning its general construction. Again, 

 instead of making the brood-chamljer deej)- 

 er than the super, as is usually done, the 

 hive was cheai)ened and simplified by mak- 

 ing each division one and the same thing in 

 every detail. 



Owing to the frequent mistake of having 

 api)lied the identical methods of manage- 

 ment to the sectional hive that has l)een 

 hal)itually given to single-chamber ones, it 

 is constantly receiving an entUess amount of 

 unjust criticism from those who su])pose 

 they have given the matter close investiga- 

 tion. The ])rincii)les contained in the two 

 hives are ra<lically different, and the most 

 valuable features of the sectional hive are 

 manifested oidy when i)roper methods of 

 liandling are em])loyed. 



Years ago practical honey-i)roducers ful- 

 ly demonstrated the feasiV)i"lity of handling 

 hives instead of frames. It is possible to de- 

 termine the condition of a colony by elevat- 

 ing one of these hive divisions and looking 

 between the comb surfaces, as well as the 

 apiarist who tediously goes over his hives 

 frame by frame. With proi)er management 

 one can thoroughly handle nearly twice the 

 numlier of colonies that he can when single- 

 chamber hives are being used. 



The one redeeming feature of a dee]) hive 

 lies in its excellent wintering (jualities. A 

 shallow hive can never be an ideal winter 

 hive. Let it not be forgotten, however, that 

 a sectional hive is not necessarily a shallow 

 one. but may V)e made at will of any desired 

 depth. 



While, generally speaking, it is advisable 

 to have no more than one style of hive in 

 tiie apiary, this rule can not always be too 

 strictly adhered to. A divisible hive and a 

 deej) one that will tier up perfectly is at 

 limes even handier than either when used 

 alone. For instance, when colonies V)uild 

 uj) sufficiently in s})ring to require addition- 

 al room, and the flow has not yet been reach- 

 ed, a shallow chamlier will usually give just 

 the correct amount of room to discourage 

 swarming. When tlie flow ap])ears. these 



shallow chambers can be re])laced with sur- 

 plus-recei)tacles. and be used for hiving 

 swarms or making new colonies. I'nder 

 such circumstances, two styles of hive go 

 well together, but they must be of proi)er di- 

 mensions to tier u]) perfectly. 

 Ft. Smith, Ark. 



STOCKING A BEE-RANGE. 



The Problem of Overstocking; Various Causes of 

 Annual Variations and Marked Changes in the 

 Varieties and Quantity of Honey-producing 

 Flora; is a Range Overstocked When the Surplus 

 per Colony Begins to Decrease? Number of 

 Acres Necessary per Colony. 



BY ORKL I^. HER8HISER. 



How many colonies of bees are recjuired 

 to stock a location properly? 



The bee-keei)er has a general idea as to 

 the value of a bee-range. If there isan abun- 

 dance of one of more varieties of hone\-i)ro- 

 ducing i)lants within easy bee-flight of the 

 apiary it is esteemed a good location. But 

 the number of colonies required to work a 

 given area to best advantage has rarely been 

 approximately ascertained. While it is a 

 l)eri)lexing problem, jjroiuibly im])ossible of 

 exact solution becauseof the varying climat- 

 ic conditions, yet there seems no doubt that 

 a much nearer approach to a knowledge of 

 the average annual net i)ossibilities of our 

 locations may lie had. 



It has been observed that, when a location 

 was sui)i)osed to be stocked with as many 

 bees as it could ])roHtal)ly sujiport. afterward 

 the number of colonies lias been doubled or 

 trebled without jjroducing any noticealjle 

 decrease in the yield per colony. It has been 

 the exjierience of l)ee-keei)ers who thought 

 they had their locations stocked to the limit 

 of profltable production, that some other 

 ai)iarist. wishing to share in the excellent 

 honey crops of the locality, has moved up- 

 on the same territory, sometimes undoubt- 

 edly resulting in some decrease in tlie yield 

 per colony, but often without iiroducingany 

 noticeable dilTerence. Oi\ the other hand 

 it has been noticed that, where the numlier 

 of colonies in some fairly large ai)iaries has 

 been greatly decreased there has been no i\\)- 

 parent increase in the yield jier colony. 



The value of a location is not to be deter- 

 mined by a single seasoii's honey cro)). and 

 very often not for three or more successive 

 seasons, but from its average annual i)ossi- 

 bilities as ascertained l)y ol)servati(Mis for a 

 jieriod sufTiciently long to giveusconfldence 

 as to what we may expect. A location may 

 V)e capal)le of jiroducing abnormally large 

 croi)s. but they may occur so infrequently, 

 and be followed byso many seasons of fail- 

 ure, as to make it "of no value to the special- 

 ist. A location jiroductive of i)lants that 

 annually yield nectar in abundance is vahi- 

 able in projwrtion to the acreage or amount 

 of the flora: and if so limited as tf) sui)i)ly a 

 good cTO\} to but few colonies it would be of 

 no value as a held for extensive oi»eratious. 



