74 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



will have some surplus; and No. 2 none 

 at all. If, however, the honey-flow 

 lasts two or three weeks, it is quite possi- 

 ble that colonv No. 2 may, on account of 

 its greater population, catch up with No. 

 I ; and even gives a greater surplus. At 

 any rate, at the end of the honey flow 

 No. 2 will be the strongest, in propor- 

 tion to the size of its brood-nest; and will 

 have a larger quantity of honey in the 

 brood-nest. And this relative strength 

 will be kept up. The bees in the large 

 hive will live as long as those in the small 

 hive; and will winter just as well, if prop- 

 erly cared for. 



There is the difference: The first year 

 was commenced with two swarms as near- 

 ly alike as possible; now, at the beginning 

 of the second year, the colony No. 2 is 

 stronger than No. I, in proportion to the 

 size of its brood-nest and will remain so 

 throughout the season. 



Early in the spring, when the weather 

 is yet cool, a colony of bees can not raise 

 more brood than it can well cover and 

 keep warm. The result is that the strong 

 colony will raise more brood in proportion 

 to its strength; and will maintain that 

 proportion until its brood nest is full. 

 The next result is that both the large and 

 the small brood-nests will be full at about 

 the same time, and will be kept full the 

 remainder of the season. 



It is needless to say that a greater 

 amount of brood raised, from early spring 

 on, means a greater population; and, con- 

 sequently, a greater amount of honey in 

 the brood-nest and in the supers, all in 

 about the same proportion. 



The above sounds like pure theory; but 

 I put it that way to make it as clear as 

 possible. To what extent it will be ver- 

 ified in actual practice depends on a great 

 many circinnstances. 



But, suppo.sing it be correct, where is the 

 gain ? That is, if 80 colonies of 12 combs 

 each give the .same surplus as 120 colo- 

 nies of 8 combs each, what is the differ- 

 ence? 



Well, not much. There would be a 

 saving of time in manipulating; perhaps 



less feeding to do and less swarming; 

 that's all. 



In my locality, however, the So colo- 

 nies of 12 combs would give a better sur- 

 plus than the 120 of 8 combs. I know 

 this by experience; and can to some ex- 

 tent, at least, account for it. 



We always reason that after the main 

 honey flow is over there is absolutely 

 nothing to gather until the following 

 spring. This is not strictly true. There 

 is more or less nectar, in small quantities, 

 to be gathered during the latter part of 

 the summer and the fall; and it is the 

 strong colonies that do the best in this 

 gathering. A weak colony might not 

 even hold its own during this period, 

 while a medium one would, and a strong 

 one would gain both in population and 

 stores. This is one point in favor of 

 strong colonies. 



Xe.xt comes the winter. Experiments 

 in regard to the amount of stores consum- 

 ed have often been made, and have in- 

 variably shown that the strong colonies 

 consvime less, in proportion to their size, 

 than the weak ones. In a few cases, the 

 strong colonies not only consumed less 

 in proportion to their size, but even a less 

 actual amount than the weak ones. 



.\s to the loss of bees, in my localit}-, 

 the strong colonies lose less than the small 

 ones. In fact, considerably less in pro- 

 porlion to their size, than the weak 

 colonies. Exactly why, 1 don't know. 



I am in a middle latitude, and I winter 

 niv bees on their sunnner stands, in well 

 l)rotected chaff hives. The winters vary 

 greatly in temperature. There are plenty 

 of days warm enough for the bees to fly; 

 alternating with cold spells of freezing 

 weather that seldom reach below zero. 

 During the mild winters, the strong colo- 

 nies rear some brood, which helps them 

 materially. 



When the sjjring oj)ens, the gain in fa- 

 vor of the large colonies still increases. 

 They not only begin to raise br(X)d much 

 earlier, but they also rear more in propor- 

 tion to their population ; and are read}- to 



