THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



45 



and not (luiintity, of bees in a hive, is of 

 paramount importance. Tiie size of the 

 hive has an inipi>rtant bearing on this 

 subject. The " loug idea" principle (my 

 assistant termed it ''wrong idea hive") of 

 Gallup and Adair, is one of the worst of 

 apislical delusions. Supposing that a 

 good queen costs 25 cts. as a basis ; a frame 

 of workercomb is worth a dollar. Tlie ex- 

 tra combs of a large hive are equivalent 

 to another swarm, while a small swarm 

 will yield much the better comparative 

 results. The most profitable colonies I 

 ever had were 8 frame hives, and small 

 frames at that. This is not an isolated case 

 in a single season but an apiary during a 

 series of years. In the small hives, the 

 queen will crowd the brood-combs and the 

 bees will crowd tlie surplus boxes. Combs 

 — not queens — are the basis of an apiary. 



J. H. EvEUARD — The trouble with friend 

 Heddon is — he has never tried the "wrong 

 idea hive" of Gallup and Adair. 



James Heddon — I've got 32 of them at 

 home that you can try for a quarter apiece. 



Pres. Balch — Unless we have prolific 

 queens our success will be limited. 



James Heddon — I have no objection to 

 prolific queens whatever, but put the ca- 

 pacity of the hive below that of the queen 

 and you'll push things. 



Dr. Southard Has any one using 



small hives ever experienced any difficulty 

 in having extra prolific queens lay sev- 

 eral eggs in a cell ? I have often found 3 

 eggs in a single cell. 



Jas. Heddon — And so have I; but 

 strange to say, never saw three bees hatch 

 therefrom. 



Pres. Balch — If you had strong stocks 

 would you divide them early, with a view 

 of increasing your crop of surplus honey ? 



James Heddon — 'Tis a fine point. Some 

 seasons I would, others not. It all depends 

 upon circumstances. Our seasons dilier 

 so widely that no rule can be given. When 

 bees are strong and the honey harvest is 

 good, they will swarm, if not divided, and 

 thus materially lessen your amount of 

 surplus. 



Pres. Balch — I want my queens so 

 prolific and my stocks so strong in num- 

 bers, that they will swarm. Then I am 

 sure of a goodly amount of surplus honey. 



Jas. Heddon — Are natural swarms su- 

 perior to artificial ones? 



Pres. Balch — They are most decidedly 

 so. 



Jas. Heddon — I want a queen that is 

 prolific in proportion to the combs of 

 a hive, and small hives will secure this. 

 Swarms of equal strength will often pre- 

 sent a vast difference of results. I want 

 b.,e8 of quality — not quantity. A bee that 

 is lightning on business is what we want. 



JuLios ToMLiNSON — Please give us your 

 plan for securing this result. 



Jas. Heddon — I have been very suc- 

 cessful as my annual reports abundantly 



prove. My plan is to rear my queens from 

 my choicest stock. By ciioice stock I do 

 not mean those yellow bees that show the 

 greatest number of rings, but the swarms 

 that roll up the largest amount of surplus 

 honey. The long-nosed breed of hogs 

 that will root up the third row of potatoes 

 through a crack in the fence will not fat; 

 but the little chunked grass breed will do 

 so readily. A bee that will secret wax 

 quickl}' and build comb fast — which is 

 equivalent to honey, and comb-honey in 

 boxes represents money — is the bee for 

 profit. I preter the Italians for their longer 

 life and greater peaceableness; but aim to 

 breed the best strains of the two races. 



J. H. EvERARD — When hives are crowd- 

 ed with brood and bees early in the season 

 it is better to divide them, you will get 

 more honey. Italian bees will fly farther 

 and carry heavier loads; and should they 

 " dwindle down" in spring, will recuper- 

 eat where the blacks will not. I once had 

 a swarm of Italians dwindle down to 

 seven bees, and a queen that defended 

 their hive against robbers for over4 weeks. 



Dr. Southard — That's the smallest 

 swarm on record. 



Geo. Stray — Much of our success will 

 depend on getting our swarms strong in 

 numbers as early in the season as possible, 

 to do this keep your hives adapted to the 

 size of the colony, even if you have to 

 contract it down to two combs. And then 

 add combs as needed, using a division 

 board. When the honey harvest comes 

 your bees will be in condition to gather it. 



Pres. Balch — The best division board 

 is a close fitting frame. 



Jas. Heddon — A comb is the best non- 

 conductor — better than any cloth or board 

 to retain heat, especially when the frame 

 is tight-fitting, as Mr. Balch uses it. 



Geo. Stray — My plan has given me 

 more satisfactory results than any other I 

 have ever tried. 



Pres. Balch — The only objection to a 

 tight-fitting frame is, that it is not quite 

 so easily manipulated, but it overcomes 

 all the objections of a loose frame. How 

 do you dispose of your removed combs? 



Geo. Stray — Put them over on the 

 other side of the division board, so that 

 the bees will not be compelled to keep a 

 lot of honey warm, when the heat is neces- 

 sary for the production of brood. 



James Heddon — Bees cover their brood 

 and keep it warm. They are heat pro- 

 ducing and retaming bodies, according to 

 circumstances. 



W. W. Millard— If you were to set a 

 hen would you select the top of a brush 

 heap that would give a constant draft of 

 cold air, or the ground, where she could 

 better control the temperature and keep 

 her egg^ warm? My idea is that better 

 success may be attained by keeping your 

 bees in a place, the size of which will cor- 

 respond with the strength of the colony. 



