March, 1915. 



American ?ae Journal 



of the College, and forwarded to us by 

 Prof. Pammel. In addition to these 

 suggestions we will say that where 

 basswood timber has been grubbed 

 out, very often sprouts spring from the 

 remaining roots and produce quick 

 growth. These may be transplanted 

 after they have formed a crown of 

 rootlets. Basswood trees make fine 

 ornamental shade. — Editor.] 



Large vs. Small Hives 



BY T. E. CRANE. 



IN the September number of the 

 American Bee Journal for 1914. on 

 page 309, is a very able and excel- 

 lent article by D. Barone, on the 

 value of large brood-chambers, which 

 proves very conclusively the value of 

 large hives. Indeed, I believe he has 

 by no means said all that he might 

 truthfully have said; for he might have 

 added that a large hive required less 

 looking after, was much less liable to 

 get short of stores and less liable to 

 swarm; the three or four extra combs 

 seeming to regulate the colony some- 

 thing as a governor regulates the mo- 

 tion of a machine, making it run more 

 evenly. 



And yet there is something to be 

 said on the other side. Having used 

 both large and small brood-chambers 

 during the past 50 years on a some- 

 what extensive scale, I believe I am in 

 a position to judge without prejudice 

 as to the merits of the different sizes 

 of hives. 



Where the season for honey gather- 

 ing is of fair length and a later flow of 

 buckwheat, goldenrod, asters, or other 

 late flowers so that the rearing of 

 brood will be continued until late in 

 the season, there is little doubt that the 

 larger size of brood-chamber will 

 prove a great success. Many years 

 ago I made hundreds of brood-cham- 

 bers to hold 11 Langstroth frames, 

 with clamps to hold 40 one-pound sec- 

 tions. There was at this time a very 

 fair yield of basswood honey which 

 added to our clover, and gave us a fair 

 season. I then thought, especially 

 after a flush season, that an 11-frame 

 hive was just the thing. But seasons 

 change. Our basswood has for many 

 years given us but little nectar. Instead 

 of our 11 combs being filled with 

 brood and honey the latter part of 

 summer, I found often little of either, 

 but instead many of the combs were 

 almost solid with bee-bread, while 

 8 frames would have held, if well filled, 

 all or nearly all the honey and brood 

 the hive contained. How much better, 

 I thought, to have all in a compact 

 form in 8 frames than scattered 

 through 11. 



It is true, as Mr. Barone says, that a 

 good colony well wintered will build 

 up very fast in spring ; but I am sorry 

 to say that a large brood-chamber will 

 not of necessity have a large colony in 

 the fall. I have found at least one 

 spring, one yard, where almost with- 

 out exception every colony that failed 

 to survive the winter was on 11 combs, 

 where nearly all on 8 combs came 

 through safely. It requires more than 

 a large brood-chamber in the fall to 



APIARY OF CARLO CARLINI 



TALL ITALIAN MOVABLE FRAME H[VE3-APIARY OF CARLO CARLtNL 



OF SANTARCANGELO 



make an equally large colony, although 

 it often helps. I found another thing, 

 that I could handle or manipulate an 

 8-frame hive much faster th- n an II- 

 frame hive, as when looking up queens 

 or cutting out queen-cells or making 

 new colonies. An 8-frame hive is 

 also much easier to handle, a matter of 

 some importance as one grows older. 



Perhaps nothing influenced me so 

 much in reducing my brood chambers 

 in size as the fact, as it seemed lo me, 

 that I could get bees into sections and 

 storing in them much quicker than 

 wiih brood-chambers of larger size. 

 Our seasons for surplus honey have 

 become very short, clover being our 

 main, and I might almost say, our only 

 dependence. 



For some reason even a strong col- 

 ony does not seem to enter a super 



over a large brood-chamber as soon as 

 a smaller one does over a smaller hive. 

 I have little difficulty, in normal years, 

 in getting a large proportion of my 

 colonies up in strengtii when clover 

 yields to enter the supers, and so able 

 to get a larger number of finished sec- 

 tions in a brief period than where the 

 bees enter the supers later. 



It is true, as Mr. Barone says, we 

 may induce bees in a large brood- 

 chamber to enter the supers bv taking 

 away a part of the combs or reducing 

 the size when we wish the bees to en- 

 ter the supers; but this would seem to 

 be more expensive in labor than the 

 use of a smaller hive. 



Again for new swarms, an 8-frame 

 hive is largeenough if we would secure 

 a large harvest of section honey. In- 

 deed, if we would secure the largest 



