374 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



and as fast as one can handle the frames, so 

 the work is done very rapidly. If these 

 rules are followed, starters may be put in 

 in this way faster than with groove and 

 wedge. 



Keep the form-board in the left hand; for 

 if the melted wax is of the right temperature 

 the work will ])roceed as fast as the spoon 

 can be dropped into the wax-dish, the frame 

 lifted off with the adhering starter, and 

 another one put in its place. After a few 

 times one will know just about how much 

 to incline the frame both endwise and side- 

 wise to make the wax rvm properly along 

 the frame-top and against the foundation. 

 On removing the frames from the form, just 

 dro}) them at one side until there is quite a 

 stack; then lay down the board from the 

 left hand and jiick up the frames one at a 

 time, and run wax on the other side of the 

 starter. 



I will guarantee this method to be fully as 

 rapid as the groove-and-wedge plan, and it 

 will take not one whit more wax. It will 

 even take less time if the wedges have to be 

 nailed or glued in, and it is, without ques- 

 tion, a good job when done. 



It sometimes hap])ens, esi)ecially in foul- 

 brood localities, that it is desirable to cut 

 ■out a comb and put in new starters; and the 

 plain-surface top-bar is just as good to restart 

 as it was the first time used. 



Loveland, Colo. 



EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION AS A MEANS 

 OF SWARM CONTROL. 



Small vs. Large Brood-chambers. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



The editorial on the control of swarming 

 on pages 284, '5, April 15, is, in my opinion, 

 a strung argument in favor of expansion and 

 contraction as against large hxed brood- 

 ■cliumber.s. .Just now, while many are ad- 

 vocating a stanilard hive of larger brood- 

 chum ber capacity than is afTorded by the 

 eight-frame Langstroth hive, it may be well 

 to consider the method of expansion and 

 •contraction as outlined in the editorial men- 

 tioned. The question is no longer whether 

 we want large brood-chambers, but whether 

 we want large //.rtd brood-chambers like the 

 Dadant, or smaller brood-chambers that are 

 iidajded to expansion by adding another 

 (lunng the breeding season, and which, by 

 means of contraction at the beginning of 

 the honey-flow, will force the bees into the 

 supers, and, incidentally, control swarming. 

 Tliis is a subject that has been thrashed 

 over in the bee-journals during the past 

 quarter of a century, and yet there is still a 

 wide diversity of opinion. 



if oiie were to produce extracted honey ex- 

 cluft;ively, and at the same time control 

 swarming, undoubtedly the large fixed 

 brood-chamber would accomplish the desir- 

 ed results with the minimum of labor. On 

 the oilier hand, if the bee-keeper wishes to 

 produce comb honey exclusively, or in con- 



nection with extracted honey, a modifica- 

 tion of the method of expansion and con- 

 traction outlined in the editorial mentioned 

 will give absolute control of the swarming 

 impulse of bees, and at the same time com- 

 pel them to store i)ractically all the honey 

 in sections instead of in a mammoth brood- 

 chamber that is capable of swallowing up 

 the entire season's crop during an ordinary 

 honey-flow. Those who advocate expansion 

 and contraction are frequently accused of 

 advocating a small brood-chamber. The 

 truth of the matter is, they have a small 

 brood-chamber when it is needed, and the 

 largest of any when a large one is needed. 



After practicing expansion and contrac- 

 tion with sectional hives, all things consid- 

 ered I have about come to the conclusion 

 that, in the legitimate occupation of hon- 

 ey-production, there is little gained by con- 

 tracting to a smaller capacity of brood-cham- 

 ber than is afforded by the eight-frame Lang- 

 stroth hive. The question then arises, 

 "What advantage has the sectional hive 

 over an ordinary eight-frame hive expand- 

 ed during the breeding season by the addi- 

 tion of another eight-frame body as outlined 

 in the editorial mentioned?" 



With my jjresent light upon the subject 

 of handling bees instead of hives and combs, 

 as previously outlined in this journal, I am 

 inclined to favor the use of full-depth Lang- 

 stroth frames, and will, perhaps, use the 

 eight-frame hive, not because 1 consider it 

 better than the ten-frame size, but because I 

 can use it interchangeably with my eight- 

 frame sectional hives. Concerning methods 

 of contracting brood-chambers, all my previ- 

 ous experience along this line proves to me 

 that the method described in your editorial 

 can not be depended upon as a means of 

 swarm control in comb-honey production. 

 Contracting the brood-chamber at the begin- 

 ning of the honey-flow, and thus concen- 

 trating the brood, would defeat the plans of 

 swarm control if the bees are compelled to 

 draw out foundation in which to store sec- 

 tion honey; at least, that is the way it usu- 

 ally works in this locality. 



After much experimenting along the line 

 of expansion and contraction I have come 

 to the conclusion that the correct way to 

 contract a brood-chamber or to combine the 

 working force of two colonies in one set of 

 supers, and, incidentally, control swarming, 

 is to separate the bees from t»heir brood right 

 at the beginning of the honey-flow, having 

 previously made all colonies strong by unit- 

 ing, so that every hive will be crammed full 

 of bees. This does away with all uncertain- 

 ties, and settles the swarming question dur- 

 ing an ordinary honey-flow; it may be ac- 

 complished by the interchanging of hives, 

 and shaking and brushing the bees from the 

 combs of one or more hives, allowing them 

 to run into an empty hive that is placed on 

 the stand formerly occupied by the colony 

 treated. This method is known as shaken 

 swarming, and is largely practiced as a 

 means of swarm control in out-apiaries run 

 for comb honev. Recent inventions, how- 



