]56 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



If one covUl know in advance just what the season 

 was going to be, one could tell a good deal better what to 

 do in the way of giving additional super-room. One may 

 give so much room that there will be an undue propor- 

 tion of unfirished sections at the final taking off, or one 

 may leave the bees so crowded for room as to lose part 

 of the crop. I am not likely to make the latter mistake, 

 which I consider a good deal worse than to have too many 

 unfinished sections. 



GUESSING ABOUT MORE SUPER-ROOM. 



On the whole, there is a mixture of judgment and 

 guess-work as to putting on any super after the first. 

 Perhaps the nearest to a general rule in the matter is to 

 give a second super when the first is half filled. If, how- 

 ever, honey seems to be coming in slowly, or if the colony 

 is not strong, and the bees seem to have plenty of room 

 in the super, no second super is given, although the one 

 already there may be nearly filled with honey. On the 

 other hand, if honey seems to be coming with a rush, and 

 the bees seem crowded for room, a second super may be 

 given, although there is very little honey in the first. 

 These same conditions continued, a third super may be 

 given when the second is only fairly started and the first 

 not half full, and before the first super is ready to take 

 ofif there may be four or five supers on the hive. 



RISKING IN GOOD SEASON. 



In the year 1897 — a remarkably prosperous year- 

 there were on the hives in the Wilson apiary an average 

 of four supers to each colony, some colonies with less 

 than four and some with more, before a single super was 

 filled. As I would lie at night thinking it over, I would 

 say to myself, "What if there should come one of those 

 sudden stops to the flow that sometimes occur, and you 

 should be caught with those tons' of honey with scarcely 

 any sections finished in the lot? Wouldn't you wish 



