THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 15 



SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT. 



\\'e will start with the colony in one story, which has served as 

 its winter quarters. As soon as this is nearly full of brood, we lift, 

 say half of the brood to the center of an added story above, filling 

 vacancies at each side in each story with empty combs. 



This first move leaves nine combs in each story, spaced to 

 occupy the ten-frame body, with the brood in the center of each 

 story. 



At our next visit, or within two or three weeks, owing to con- 

 ditions, having been the round of all the apiaries as above, we start 

 around again, working that apiary that seems farthest advanced 

 first, as follows : 



There is now more danger of the swarming impulse, which we 

 wish to head ofif before it develops. It is also warmer weather and 

 we can safely practice more drastic measures. 



From each colony that has its two stories nearly full of brood 

 and honey, we set aside, upon a temporary bottom board, the upper 

 story, then lift the lower story from its bottom and place it over 

 the other ; place an empty body on the old stand and proceed to 

 rearrange the combs in it by placing next, to the far side two 

 empty combs, then two combs with brood from the colony, bees 

 and all, then two empties, then two more of brood, then last, one 

 empty comb next to the near side. The "empties'' are either dry 

 or dauby combs from the storehouse or light and broodless combs 

 from the colony. We then place on another body and fill it m like 

 manner, and then a third body, or as many as the brood in the 

 colony will furnish. If the brood combs do not come out even, we 

 place two, three or five in the last body on top. and usually add 

 another body on top of that to take whatever combs of honey are 

 left, together with enough empties to fill out. 



TIERING UP. 



This is what we might call an extreme application of the tiering 

 up and tiering out principle. Xo excluder is used. No attention is 

 paid to the whereabouts of the queen. No bees are shaken. The 

 colony is virtually divided into many two-frame nuclei, each sur- 

 rounded l>y empty comli, and all under the charge of one queen and 

 one colony. Any inclination to swarm is at once supplanted by the 

 strongest impulse to restore things to their normal relation to each 

 other, and to fill up the many vacancies throughout the colony, for 

 bees, like nature in general, "abhor a vacuum." 



The queen abandons the upper and outer combs of brood, and 

 selects a central location around which she establishes her future 

 brood nest, while the bees fill with honey all surrounding empty 

 combs, including those vacated b^- hatching brood. 



