1HE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



109 



as soon as they are placed upon the 

 frames, and that they continue to oc- 

 cupy them as long as the honey flow 

 lasts. 



This method too, is one that is in 

 strict accordance with bee-law, and 

 and not only theoretically correct, 

 but practically so, in its workings in 

 the apiary, and I am so well satisfied 

 that it is worthy of being tried on a 

 large scale, and in various different 

 localities, that I give it to the public, 

 even at the risk of being accused of 

 "belittling the intelligence of the 

 masses." I use the " Simplicity L 

 hive" with seven-eighth inch wide 

 top bars, but as 1 said above my j)lan 

 can be used with any frame hive. 



In early spring when I make my 

 first examination for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the condition of the col- 

 onies, and in aiding them in their 

 "spring cleaning" I extract all the 

 frames in the broob-chamber, shave 

 the combs cleanly to exactly seven- 

 eighths inch in width, and then re- 

 place them in the hive just bee-space 

 apart. I feed enough for the wants 

 of the bees and brood, aud to stimu- 

 late the queen to full activity. When 

 the honey season fairly opens I put 

 on sections and find that they are at 

 once occupied and tilled, and that 

 this continuesduring the whole honey 

 harvest. If room enough is given in 

 the brood-chamber for the queen and 

 in the surplus department for the 

 honey, there is no more inclination to 

 swarm than is found when extracted 

 honey is being worked for. It is nec- 

 essary, however, to watch the combs 

 a lttle to* see that |they are evenly 

 built out on each side, and the spaces 

 between them are just right, viz : 

 scant three-eighth inch or a large one- 



quarter inch. When the honey sea- 

 son is over, I remove the sections and 

 a frame or two, spread the combs 

 apart and then feed up for winter. 



The rationale of the above plan is 

 this: It is a well known fact that 

 bees dislike to store honey in shallow 

 cells, and they will not, when they can 

 find deep ones; it is also a fact equal- 

 ly well known that they under no 

 circumstances seal up brood in cells 

 any deeper than regulation depth viz: 

 those built in combs just seven-eighths 

 inch thick. This being so it follows 

 theoretically, logically and in practice 

 also, that if we allow no comb thicker 

 than seven-eighths inch in the brood- 

 chamber, and give ample room for 

 surplus for the bees to build cells of 

 any desired depth, that the brood 

 chamber will be used for nothing but 

 brood. And the rule (and an iupera- 

 tive rule it is too), is that surplus is 

 stored above the brood — we find it 

 is placed only in the sections, and so 

 continued to be placed so long as no 

 deep cells are allowed in the brood 

 chamber. 



The reversing idea is far from being 

 new, and I myself have for years 

 made occasional use of it when desir- 

 ous of having single frame or section 

 fully filled. I thought well of it at 

 first, and for the single purpose of oc- 

 casional use J still think well of it, 

 but for general use in my own apiary 

 1 find it too expensive, both in extra 

 cost of appliances and in the extra 

 time and labor involved. The meth- 

 od I have outlined above will be seen 

 at once to involve no extra expense, 

 and as a thorough examination should 

 be made of every colony in the spring, 

 no real extra amount of time need be 

 given, as what extra time is required 



