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Yes, but better results can be had 

 by adjusting the cases over the brood- 

 chamber. — G. W. Demaeee. 



I would consider it poor practice. 

 Put your surplus cases where you ex- 

 pect thcni to i-eraain. — Mrs. L. Har- 

 rison. 



I have never tested this matter, but 

 should go slow in adopting the plan. — 

 J. E. Pond. 



This is quite a problem ; fertile 

 brains might put it in practical form. 

 Who will try it ? It might be so — J. 

 M. Hambaugh. 



I do not know, but I should fear to 

 try it on a large scale. If they did, 

 would not the queen occupy them, and 

 the combs be filled with pollen ? — 

 Eugene Secor. 



From several trials I say no. Un- 

 less sections are placed right by the 

 side or among the brood, they would 

 better be above. — A. J. Cook. 



I do not think that it would be of 

 any help to you. Put them on top, 

 where they belong. — H. D. Cutting. 



Yes, it may be done ; but there will 

 be a good chance for pollen in the 

 sections. A better plan is, to invert 

 the hive and put the sections over the 

 brood-nest. — J. M. Shuck. 



I have had no experience in placing 

 section-cases under the brood-cham- 

 ber, or compelling the liees to pass 

 through it in going from the hive. The 

 natural place for bees to store surplus 

 is over the brood-nest, as you can 

 readil}- see by looking at a brood- 

 comb. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I have tried that once with no suc- 

 cess, therefore I cannot speak of it 

 with much knowledge, but I do not 

 believe that it will induce the Iniilding 

 of comb. Contract the brood-nest, 

 and move the frames closer together, 

 and if honey is gathered, the bees will 

 build comb on top as well as anywhere 

 else. — P. L. ViALLON. 



If the colony is strong, and there is 

 honey to be gathered in sufficient 

 quantity, the bees will occupy sections 

 over the Ijrood-frames, if one section 

 filled with empty comb, or, what is 

 better, partly tilled with unsealed 

 honey, be placed in the centre of each 

 row of sections ; otherwise they had 

 better not build comb. — M. Mahin. 



When honey is coming in, bees will 

 build comb either under or in front of 

 the brood-chamber ; but as they prefer 

 to carrj- the surplus above the brood, 

 I believe, as a rule, that is the best 

 place to put the surplus cases. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



Bees will build comb there if they 

 can find no better places, but the sys- 

 tem is undesirable and impracticable. 

 — The Editor. 



SPRIIVO. 



Written fnr the Tnuth's Companion 

 BY Wn.LlAM H. HAYNE. 



When tiirds are singing 



On brush and tree, 

 And opening roses 



Allure the bee,— 

 When urass is growing 



In glade and glen, 

 And young leaves gladden 



The lonely ten,— 



When earth yields glimpses 



Of hoarded grain, 

 And the sunshine glimmers 



Through threads of rain,— 

 When dew is falling 



On stalk and bud. 

 And tervid fancies 



Invade the blood,— 



When brooks are flowing 



In music free, 

 And warm winds travel 



Across the sea. 

 When earth beguiles us 



With smile or tear. 

 We know with gladness 



That Spring is here ! 



LARGE HIVES. 



Large Combs and Strong Colo- 

 nies Conducive to Strength. 



WrttUn for the American Bee Journal 

 BY J. M. HAMBAUGH. 



On page 789, Mr. Buchanan, in 

 speaking of 15 colonies of bees which 

 he purchased from a neighbor in large 

 box-hives, with many openings about 

 them, says : 



"Such powerful colonies I had never 

 seen in April. I could but view them 

 with astonishment. Musingly I asked 

 myself this question : Of what use is 

 our modern system of contraction, and 

 careful expensive packing, if bees will 

 winter in such splendid condition as 

 they have in th(^se old excuses for 

 hives ? What do we know ?" 



Mr. Buchanan has evidently noted 

 the superiority of large, roomy hives 

 and combs in the case spoken of, and 

 now I will just state that not only 

 have dozens of instances come under 

 my own observations, where bees were 

 occupying large, roomy hives with 

 combs built according to their own 

 liking, but with them in movable-frame 

 hives of two jjatterns, namely, the 

 Simplicity and Quinbj', a la Dadant. 

 The difl'erence has been so marked, 

 that there can be no possibility of a 

 doubt in my mind, as to the superiority 

 of large, roomy combs and hives, for 

 outrdoor wintering, and consequent 

 large yields of honey per colony. 



Another point unquestionably is, 

 that thev are nearer a non-swarming 



hive, than those of smaller patterns, 

 and equally as capable of increase 

 should it be desired. 



In regai'd to my statement on page 

 804 of the AmkuicanBee Journal for 

 1887, that where bees are found in all 

 kinds of hives and left to build their 

 own combs, that the same principle 

 that governs one, governs all, in the 

 main, (namely, large, deep, roomy 

 combs, with stores above, brood be- 

 neath, and combs spaced from \\ to 2 

 inches from centre to centre), Mr. Cul- 

 linan remarks on page 39, as follows : 



"Did he not find those combs of all 

 shapes and sizes, made and shaped 

 more with a view of filling the reposi- 

 tory in which they were built, than to 

 honor any whim or requirement of the 

 queen-mother ?" 



Most certainly not. unless driven to 

 it for the want of space. A cramped 

 " repository " will necessitate crooked 

 combs, but as a rule, where they are 

 provided with large, roomj' brood- 

 cliambers, ccmbs will be built as before 

 stated. 



Mr. C. says : "The Quinby frame, 

 which is the frame that Mr. Hambaugh 

 alludes to, is too large and unwieldly 

 for extracting, as well as slower of 

 manipulations at all times." As Mr. 

 Cullinan has never tried that which he 

 condemns, we will let the public weigh 

 the assertion for what it is worth. 



I distinctly remember my first visit 

 to Mr. Dadant's, and with all the argu- 

 ments coupled with their long experi- 

 ence, failed to convince me that the 

 " Quinby frame was too large and un- 

 wieldly, etc." Yet I never expressed 

 myself so in print, but brought a frame 

 of both brood-chamber and surplus de- 

 partment home with me, by which to 

 make some hives, and satisfy tax own 

 mind. This was in the spring of 1883. 



That spring I put 5 colonies on 

 frames of this pattern, with only par- 

 tial sheets of foundation. There was 

 quite a marked dift'erence in the 

 strength of the colonies in the fall, 

 during spanish-needle bloom, they 

 filling their supers and brood-i-hambers 

 from top to bottom ; and with the same 

 treatment, they came through the fol- 

 lowing winter much stronger in num- 

 bers, built up very rapidly in the 

 spring, and having but a single tier of 

 supers for each hive, they swarmed all 

 around, and one of them sent out the 

 second swarm. This began to make 

 me open my eyes, and from that time 

 on I began to pave the way to the use 

 of the Quinby hive for extracting i)ur- 

 poses, and the three subsequent years 

 have more than confirmed my former 

 convictions. Mr. C. should know that 

 we are after the results first, and not 

 so much the pleasure of handling. I 

 quote the following from "Quinby's 

 New Bee-Keeping," page 56 : 



