424 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



house," and they don't swarm. And did not Quinby and Benton show 

 that bees given plenty of room in the brood-chamber would not swarm? 

 I will admit that reducing the fanning, clustering out and roaring helps 

 to keep them at home. So my hive will "make good" if I can fool the 

 little idiots into thinking that a 4-inch open space all around them is 

 available storage room. (Were they easily fooled? Let us know. — Ed.) 



Aspinwall has fooled them into thinking that %-inch open space 

 is waitable storage, there is "millions of room at our house," and they 

 don't swarm. As a matter of fact, bees won't build com)) in a %-inch 

 open space unless forced to do so. Colonies in Neal N. S. hives would 

 get verv powerful (Id standard brood combs) if they did not swarm, 

 and it is not likely the cool summer nights would have any effect on 

 them. 



Two weeks later : Since writing you, have found embryo queen 

 cells in one of my (Neal) non-swarming hives. A look into the one 

 super (5^)^-inch by 10-frame) fh(A\ed very few bee> in the super. There 

 were nine frames (5 %-inch) in the super with only half sheets of worker 

 foundation. They had a wood-wire queen excluder, which was doubt- 

 less the cause of the queen cells. Aspinwall don't dare use a queen ex- 

 cluder. This Neal hive was not made right. • It had only one entrance 

 and only a %-inch water table, as I explained before. The last Neal 

 hive made was just right and has in it the strongest colony in my yard. 

 They have on one super with full sheets of worker foundation, and they 

 went into the super and are drawing out the foundation, although the 

 flow is so light that no honey is put into the cells. 



I expect to order 50 Neal hives made up (10-frame) this winter and 

 will make six myself, being 56 N. N. S. hives for the swarming season 

 of 1913. Twelve will be run for chunk comb honey in 5%-inch frames, 

 with a wood-wire queen excluder and full sheets of thin super drone 

 foundation in the frames, with empty supers next the brood chamber 

 as long as there is any danger of swarming. Four 10-frame supers will 

 be used to the hive. Forty-four will be worked for section honey, with- 

 out queen excluders, with l:^xl:^4xl/^-inch sections, using full sheets 

 of drone foundation in the sections. The Aspinwall hive will be worked 

 the same way. The Junge hive will also be worked the same way. As 

 for the Benton hive, it is not worth considering — not in it. Please bear 

 in mind that the Junge hive tested out this summer had on queen ex- 

 cluder with empty supers above and lots of capped honey next the brood- 

 chamber, wdiich was a very poor test. I always use full sheets of foun- 

 dation above and below. My mind is now clear as a hell (italics mine. — 

 Ed.) as regards the principles of non-swarming hives. I know where 

 I am at now. (A year has now passed, Mr. Neal. "Where are you at" 

 now? — Ed.) Am holding my breath for fear the queen will put drone 

 brood in the sections, and that they will swarm on account of those 13 

 queen excluders. An all-wire queen excluder would be a great help. 



