THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



89 



thing like this : Here is an area of honey- 

 jM-oducing flowers ; how shall we secure 

 the nectar with the least expenditure of 

 capital and labor? Small hives enable 

 us to secure a more complete filling of 

 the combs with brood ; consequently 

 we ha\-e more workers for the combs. 

 Small hives may cost a trifle more, in 

 proportion to their size, than large hives, 

 but as an offset there is the greater ease 

 and (juickness with which they may be 

 handled. 



Aside from a small brood-nest to se- 

 cure a more complete filling of the combs 

 with brood, or to lead to more rapid 

 work in the sections, there may be men- 

 tioned the making of hives in such a 

 manner that they may be inverted. The 

 masses have not seemed to take kindly 

 to inversions. Like many new things 

 it was extravagantly praised ; but it is 

 fiir from valueless. Perhaps one reason 

 why inversion is not more generally 

 practised, is because it has been dis- 

 covered that with a hive having a hori- 

 zontally divisible brood chamber, the 

 interchange of the parts accomplishes 

 the same results as inversion. 



We cannot agree with our friend that 

 a large brood-chamber is needed at any 

 time in the season. 



A large brood nest does not mean a 

 large colony oy any means. In most 

 cases just the reverse is the result. Bees 

 winter far better on a few combs well 

 filled with honey than they do on a large 

 number in which there is a small amount 

 of honey in each comb. 



We have hardly known it to fail when 

 finding a colony located on one side of 

 the brood- chamber, or at one corner 

 for winter, that did not die before spring. 

 The stores would be eaten out, and the 

 colony dead long before spring. This 

 state of things cannot exist in the small 

 brood- chamber. The cluster is always 

 within easy reach of their stores. 



as they are being filled, add more sec- 

 tions as the season advances. On cool 

 nights contract the entrance of even the 

 largest colony to one inch space, and if 

 need be, cover the hive with blankets or 

 anything that will keep up the tempera- 

 ture of the interior of the hive. Of 

 course this cannot be done in apiaries 

 where hundreds of colonies are kept, 

 but the small beekeeper can practise it. 

 The entrance can be contracted even in 

 large apiaries. This method has been 

 practised for years in our apiary. A 

 few days ago, two queen nurseries of 21 

 cages, each cage having a queen cell in it, 

 were inserted in the brood chamber of a 

 strong colony. The nights were cool 

 and to make sure the cells should hatch, 

 the hive was blanketed as above stated. 

 On examination later on, the cells in the 

 outer cages had hatched all right. 



By keeping the bees at work in the 

 sections at night, a much larger amount 

 of honey will be secured. On cool 

 niglits bees in single-wall hives desert 

 the sections and do not get at- work in 

 them till about ten o'clock the next day, 

 and not then unless the weather is warpa 

 and pleasant. This is another point in 

 favor of the double-wall hive. They 

 serve as good purpose in the early flow 

 of honey as they do in winter in protect- 

 ing the bees from extreme cold. And 

 still further, the 7-or 8-frame hive should 

 not be forgotten here. Bees working in 

 sections in 8-frame hives do not desert 

 the sections in cool weather as they do 

 in lo-frame hives. All these things, 

 though they do not seem of much im- 

 portance, really count in the end. As 

 stated in a quotation on another page, 

 "If any person expects to realize a large 

 income from his bees and never look af- 

 ter them, etc." It does pay to look 

 after them, providing the looking after 

 is done at the right time. 



THE HONEY SEASON OF 1891. 



The honey harvest for 1891 is close 

 at hand. Let all take advantage of it 

 and secure the largest possible amount. 

 Get the sections on the hives early and 



THE SWARM IIIVKIIS. 



Especial attention is called to the re- 

 ports (found on another page) just re- 

 ceived from two women beekeei)ers in 

 the state of Texas. Mrs. Sherman is well 

 known to all the readers of the Api; Mrs. 



