THE bEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



91 



time when it is most profitable for us to 

 have them is filled. With my locality 

 and management, this size is an 8-frame 

 I.aniTstroth. 



EXTRACTED. 



SMALL HIVES. 



Why They are the best Adapted to the 



Production of Comb Honey in the 



Northern States. 



Now that this hive question is on the 

 floor, let's thresh it oui iifan. Mr. Getaz 

 shows very clearly how the size of hive 

 and the management adapted to the con- 

 ditions of the Northern States may not be 

 the best for the South, or for other locali- 

 ties possessed of different conditions. 

 There is sometimes an advantage, how- 

 ever, in getting a double light, or a cross- 

 light, on a subject; or, in other words, in 

 letting two men explain the same point. 

 For this reason I am going to copy the 

 following article from the pen of C. Dav- 

 enport, of Southern Minnesota, and pub- 

 lished in the .\merican Bee Journal. 



From what has since been said by some, 

 I believe that my position in the discus- 

 sion that took place sometime ago in re- 

 |i;ard to the best size of hive was some- 

 what misunderstood; on this account, 

 perhaps, I may be allowed to say a few 

 more words on the subject in this discus- 

 .sion. 



I advocated the lo-frame hive as the 

 best for the majority, or, in other words, 

 for those who did not have the time or 

 inclination to feed, which is more often 

 necessary with S frames than 10; but I 

 prefer, and use, a hive containing only 8 

 standard-size frames, and with them I 

 can obtain more honey per frame, work, 

 feed and capital invested, con.sidered, 

 than I can by using larger hives. But I 

 have no doubt 10-franie hives, taking a 

 series of years, would give better results 

 to the average bee keeper, for, as a rule, 

 it requires a much closer attention to de- 

 tails when using 8-frame hives, but many 

 years' experience with hundreds of colo- 

 nies, and with hives of various sizes, has 

 convinced me that a lo-frame hive is bet- 



ter than a larger one for the production 

 of comb honey in the Northern States, 

 and I will briefly explain why. 



In the first place, here we have at the 

 first but a short season. From the time 

 the weather is favorable for brood-rear- 

 ing there is what might be called but a 

 short time until the white honey harvest 

 commences, and I have found but very 

 few queens that would keep more than 10 

 frames filled early enough so that the 

 eggs would develop into field bees in 

 time to gather this white flow, for the 

 fact should be borne in mind that it takes 

 about 35 days for an egg to develop into 

 a field-bee. Later, though, a large per- 

 cent of queens might require more than 

 10 frames if they were given the oppor- 

 tunity to develop their full laying capac- 

 ity, but in this locality it is not only not 

 profitable, but it is a loss to have an im- 

 mense force of bees reared at this time, 

 for before they come into action as field- 

 bees the white honey harvest is over; and 

 while we sometimes get a fall crop here, 

 many of these bees will be too old to be of 

 much service in gathering a fall flow. 

 But if otherwise, the dark honey 

 gathered in the fall would not be worth 

 the white honey which it had taken to 

 produce, and which they have consumed. 

 But, again, even if it were, it would be no 

 plea for allowing them to be reared, for 

 in the natural course of events, even with 

 8-f ranie hives, there will be a force of field- 

 bees large enough to secure anything in 

 the nature of a fall crop, which is likely 

 to occur in this locality. 



Some who.have argued in favor of large 

 hive have practically admitted all I have 

 just said to be true, with the exception 

 that it is still profitable to rear a large 

 force of bees toward the latter part of the 

 season, for in that case it is claimed col- 

 onies will go into winter quarters strong- 

 er, and have a much larger force of bees 

 when brood-rearing is commenced in the 

 spring; and that because this extra force 

 of bees is present they will breed up and 

 develop much more rapidly. 



But the fact of this matter is, that in 

 this locality, at least, it is by no means 

 the rule that these extra-large colonies 

 will be any stronger by the first of next 

 May or June than are medium-sized col- 

 onies of the previous fall. But I can un- 

 derstand that in some localities, where 

 the conditions of the season are different 

 from what they are here, that they might 

 be. Let me explain why they are not, 

 as a rule, here. 



In the first place, my present belief is 

 that the most practical way to winter bees 

 in this State is in some repository under 



