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789 





Two Colonic!!! in One Hive in 

 the Spring. 



WrUtcn for the American Bee Journal 



Query 594.— Thei hiyes I use take 10 and 

 12 Langetroth frames, and the hive-entrances 

 are 7 or 8 Inches long. Would it be a good 

 Idea, in the early spring, to put one of the 

 division-boards in the centre of the hive, thus 

 making two divisions, using the 10 or 12 

 frame— .5 or 6 frames in each division, and 

 put in two queens, one in each apartment, 

 and arrange an entrance-slide in the center 

 of the entrance, so as to make two entrances; 

 and when they have bred up strong, to remove 

 one of the queens, take the divisioti-board 

 from the center, and put the brood froiu the 

 two divisions in the centre, and take away 

 the entrance-slide '/—New York. 



It looks practicable, if yon have the 

 queens. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I have found such an arrangement 

 to work niceh'. — A. B. Mason. 



In early spring, one good queen can 

 lay more eggs than the bees can care 



for. — G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



This would answer all right experi- 

 mentalh' ; but jjraclically — "it never 

 would do." — Will M. Barnum. 



I think that the plan is too cuniber- 

 sonie to pay. — M. Mahin. 



I have had but little experience in 

 this line. It looks well, but does not 

 " pan out" all right. — H. D. Cutting. 



No. One queen, if good, will lay 

 all the eggs the whole colony can take 

 care of in the spring. — R. L. Taylor. 



Your plan will work, but I would 

 arrange the entrances at opposite 

 sides of the hive. — J. M, Ha5IBAUGH. 



Your plan has some plausibility 

 about it, but practically I fear in the 

 end there would be little gained. — J. 

 P. H. Brown. 



Theoretically the plan is all right. 

 There is a quicker and cheaper way to 

 get what honcj' a field affords. — James 

 JHeddon. 



I always practice contraction in the 

 spring, though I only keep one colony 

 in each hive. Dr. Miller puts 2 colo- 

 nies in each hive in winter, I think, 

 and likes it. — A. J. Cook. 



I should prefer to keep the bees all 

 together, rather than to attempt to 

 split them up. One queen is sufficient 

 in the spring. — J. E. Pond. 



No ; that is not practical. It looks 

 better in theory than in practice. A 

 good queen, after a good wintering, 

 will fill }our 12 Langstroth frames 

 with brood. — Dadant & Son. 



No doubt but your plan will work 

 well, but it occurs to me — where would 

 you get two queens for each hive in the 

 early spring ? I find it no easy matter 

 to furnish all my colonies with one 

 good queen each, in the early spring. 

 — G. W. Demaeee. 



That would undoubtedly work .all 

 right if one liked so nvxi-'h fussing ; but 

 I slioulil prefer smaller hives and less 

 manipulating of the frames. — Eu<5ene 

 Seoor. 



This m.ay work well, but if a colony 

 is strong enough to make two 5-frame 

 nuclei, I would prefer to contract it to 

 its capacity, and let one queen do the 

 business.— P. L. Viallon. 



Everything will work nicely until 

 yon come to separate them. Then, if 

 not careful, you will give one queen 

 all the Hying force. With the plan 

 given in " A Year Among the Bees," I 

 have no trouble in letting each queen 

 keep her own bees. — C. C. Miller. 



This plan might work very well, but 

 I do not see where you would get your 

 extra queens so early, unless you prac- 

 tice doubling up. I have experimented 

 some on this line, but I have not yet 

 decided whether it is of any advan- 

 tage. Give it a trial and report in the 

 American Bee Journal. — C. H. Dib- 



BERN. 



No, do not do it. If a good queen 

 cannot fully occupy the hive before the 

 honey-yiekl, the hive is too large, that 

 is all. If the queen cannot populate a 

 hive of the proper size, get a new 

 queen. The bee-keeper should work 

 his bees in wholesale lots, and avoid 

 puttering. — J. M. Shuck. 



We can see no advantage in the 

 plan proposed, for one good queen 

 will lay all the eggs required, and all 

 that can be taken care of. The fuss 

 and extra labor would not pay, es- 

 pecially if the apiarist has anything 

 else to do ; and the separation in the 

 spring may cause more trouble than 

 you expect. Besides, to obtain the ex- 

 tra queen required when dividing, and 

 to profitably employ them after unit- 

 ing, will be a problem to solve. — The 

 Editor. 



Frames for Producing Extrncled 

 Honey. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 595.— When working for extracted 

 honey, and the tierlng-up system is practiced, 

 suppofethe bee-keeper uses the Langstroth 

 brood-frame, would it rot be more desirable, 

 and would not more honey be secured by 

 using frames '/i the depth; or If that Is thought 

 to be too shallow, say 8 or 7 Inches deep, and 

 the same length as the Langstroth frame, in- 

 stead of using the frames inlhe upper story 

 the full depth of the Langstroth frame ?— New 

 York. 



I think not. — Will M. Barnuji. 



I believe it would. — Eugene Secor. 



I prefer a uniform frame above and 

 below. — J. M. Hambaugii. 



I think not, judging from my own 

 experience. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I use full-depth frames for extract- 

 ins;. — G M. DOOLITTLE. 



I think not. I believe that we can- 

 not afford two sizes of frames. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



I prefer a shallow frame for top- 

 storing for extracted honey. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



This will give you more frames to 

 manipulate ; hence extra labor and no 

 more surplus. — P. L. Viallon. 



The shallow frames are better if you 

 do not mind having two kinds of 

 frames. — C. C. Miller. 



We decidedly prefer frames G inches 

 deep, ;ifter hsiving tried different kinds 

 side by side for years. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



Many of our most successful bee- 

 keepers use a 5-inch frame, Langstroth 

 length, with the best results. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



I have used half Langstroth depth 

 frames for extracting over 15 years, 

 and I prefer tliem to full-depth frames. 

 — James Heddon. 



I think that no more honey would 

 be gathered by using shallow frames 

 in such a case, and their use might, or 

 might not, be more desirable, accord- 

 ing to the other circumstances. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



For extracted honey I prefer a frame 

 not more than G inches deep in the 

 clear. Those that I use are 5J inches, 

 and they seem to be just right. — M. 

 Mahin. 



This is a question on which there 

 has been considerable discussion. I 

 prefer the regular Langstroth frame. 

 I think that the ([uestion is a local one, 

 and wholly a matter of individual pref- 

 erence. — J. E. Pond. 



I think that good results could be 

 secured with frames J the depth of the 

 Langstriith frames. I prefer a frame 

 7 inches deep, but about 4 inches 

 longer than the Langstroth, and would 

 use these to tier up for extracted 

 honey. — C. H. Dibbern'. 



For .shallow supers, I make them just 

 right to hold a frame that will just 

 take in a 41x4J-inch section; so if I 

 want to use sections, I put in brood- 

 frames. When the bees require more 

 room than is furnished by the shallow 

 super, I remove it and put a full story 

 in its place, using the Langstroth 

 frame, and place the shallow super, if 

 not completed, on a weaker colony. — 

 A. B. Mason. 



According to my experience, ex- 

 tending through eight or ten years, I 

 would say yes, if the shallow frames 

 are properly adjusted in c;ises suitable 

 to the tiering-up system. I would not 

 advise frames more than G inches deep. 

 I make mine a fraction less than 5 

 inches deep, so that 2 frames will go 

 in the extractor made for the standard 

 Langstroth frame. When the season 



