70 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



the greater part of each clear day, the work of the queen may be 

 inspected. Should the comb having the largest area of brood in it 

 be toward one side of the hive it is best to locate it as near the center 

 as may be, placing on either side successively those combs having 

 smaller circles of brood and on each side of these the combs containing 

 no brood, but well stored with pollen, while those having honey only 

 will come still outside of these. The brood nest will then have an 

 opportunity to develop equally in all directions. Empty combs are of 

 little use at this time outside of the brood nest as thus arranged, and 

 should be replaced by combs of honey if the latter is needed, or removed 

 altogether. If the combs are well crowded with bees and the queen 

 shows by her regular and compact placing of the brood, as well as by 

 the quantity she seems to have, that she is vigorous and thus capable 

 of accomplishing more than any ordinary brood nest will require of her 

 at this time of the year, a frame filled with worker comb may be slipped 

 into the center of the brood nest. This will be taken possession of 

 immediately by the bees, cleaned and warmed up, whereupon the queen 

 will soon have it filled with eggs. From time to time other combs may 

 be added in the same manner. If cautiously and judiciously followed 

 this plan, supplemented by liberal stores, will increase the brood area 

 and eventually the population of the hive. But the utmost caution is 

 needed, for if done too early cool weather may cause the bees to cluster 

 more closely and result in the chilling of some part of the brood which 

 has thus been spread. The very object sought is not only missed, but 

 the loss of brood will prove a serious setback to the colony. The escape 

 of any of the warmth generated by the bees, as also sudden changes 

 in the weather, should be guarded against. Warm covering above and 

 outer protection are therefore absolute necessities if the best results are 

 to be attained. With favorable weather for the development of brood 

 it is certain that stimulative feeding, if made necessary by the fact that 

 the natural honey resources of the country will not alone bring the 

 strength of the colony fairly up to the desired standard by the opening 

 of the harvest, is to be begun six to seven weeks before the opening of 

 the honey flow from which surplus is to be expected. 



If, however, this honey flow comes so early that it is likely to be pre- 

 ceded by weather unfavorable to the development of brood, it will be 

 necessary to allow for this by beginning the stimulation even earlier, so 

 that it may be done more gradually, and the greatest care will have to 

 be taken to retain all the heat of the brood nest. Should the main flow 

 be preceded by a lighter one, especially if the latter comes some weeks 

 before the chief harvest, it may be important to watch the brood nest 

 closely lest it becomes clogged with honey to the exclusion of brood, 

 inclining the bees not to enter surplus receptacles placed above and 

 causing the colony to be weak in numbers later in the season. This 

 state of affairs can be easily avoided by the timely use of the honey 

 extractor, since thp brood combs, emptied of the honey which the 



