314 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



every paper put in some one or other. 

 Yet a few points need some explanation. 

 In the first place, it must be understood 

 that the question is between large or small 

 brood-nests, as it is supposed that all the 

 supers needed to accomodate the honey- 

 flow will be given in either case. 



Next, a large brood-nest implies a colo- 

 ny of sufficient size to occupy it. This 

 seems evident, and should not have 

 to be mentioned, but, nevertheless, I was 

 astonished to see some of our best writers 

 fail to grasp the situation and insist that 

 it was useless to have a large brood-nest 

 which would never be filled. Of course, 

 it is useless to have a larger brood-nest 

 than needed, but it is necessary to have it 

 large enough to secure all the brood that 

 can be reared. 



How much is necessary? That's the 

 question. All the partisans of small hives 

 say that eight frames are all that an aver- 

 age queen can fill before the honey- 

 flow. After the honey flow has begun, 

 they want the honey to go into the supers 

 instead of being used in the brood-nest. 

 Right here those in favor of large hives 

 say that their queens can fill from ten to 

 twelve or even sixteen frames, and have 

 a correspondingly large number of 

 field-bees when the flow opens. 



Why is it so ? We cannot admit that 

 small-brood-nest men (let us call them 

 " small broodists " ) have inferior queens. 

 Men like Doolittle, Hutchinson, and 

 R. L. Taylor, know what a good queen is, 

 and would have changed their stock long 

 ago if it were so. In fact, Mr. Doolittle's 

 queens, if they had a chance, would fill 

 the biggest brood-nest ever dreamed of 

 by the Dadants. 



Perhaps their queens do not fill more 

 than 8 frames because they have only 

 that number. I don't think so. If their 

 queens were able to fill more, they would 

 give more. Men of their experience do 

 not make such a mistake, and in fact 

 they have tried and found 8 to be about 

 the right number. 



But the question remains. Why is it 

 that the large broodist's queens can fill lo, 

 12 and i6 frames instead of only 8? 



After reading all that I could find on 

 the subject; after thinking a good deal 

 and comparing their experience with 

 mine, I say, unhesitatingly, that it is be- 

 cause the small broodist's colonies are too 

 small in the spring, or rather at the end 

 of the winter. 



The prolificness of the queen is not the 

 only thing to be considered. No matter 

 how many eggs a queen can lay, no more 

 brood is going to be reared than the bees 

 can take care of. This is especially true 



in the early part of the season, when the 

 weather is cool yet, and the brood has to 

 be well covered by the bees to get the 

 necessary warmth. No brood will hatch , 

 or rather emerge, until three or four 

 weeks after the opening of the season, 

 and during that period the strength of the 

 colony will decrease all the time. After 

 that, the amount of brood will increase 

 at first, then faster aud faster until the 

 honey-flow comes. 



Now, it seems evident to me, and my 

 experience has been in accordance with it, 

 that the amount of brood secured at the 

 opening of the honey-flow depends chiefly 

 upon the strength of the colony at the 

 opening of the season. With such colo- 

 nies as the small broodists have at the 

 opening of the season, only enough brood 

 can be reared to fill the 8 combs by the 

 opening of the honey-flow. With a colony 

 50 percent stronger in population, 50 per- 

 cent more brood could be reared — 12 

 combs occupied instead of 8, and with a 

 population 20 percent larger, 20 percent 

 more of surplus could be secured. 



It seems to me that I see somebody bob- 

 bing up with the question; How do you 

 know that the small broodists winter 

 only small colonies? 



Well, I know it by their own writings. 

 It is only two months ago that Mr. Hutch- 

 inson said in the Bee-Keeper's Review 

 that in Michigan a large colony would be 

 almost sure to rear brood in the winter, 

 and be worthless in the spring. Mr. 

 Doolittle has said, time and again, that 

 small colonies (he calls them medium) 

 winter better than larger ones. Mr. Da- 

 venport, in a late number of Gleanings in 

 Bee- Culture, wrote that whatever was the 

 strength of the colony in the fall, the 

 spring would find them ver>' nearly alike, 

 and it was therefore useless to winter too 

 large colonies. Mr. Heddon contracts 

 his brood-nest in the summer, and win- 

 ters only what can occupy one section in 

 his hive. R. L. Taylor also says the 

 small colonies winter the best. 



The question is now: Supposing the 

 large colonies could be wintered equally 

 well, which would be the best — 80 colo- 

 nies of 12 combs and population in pro- 

 portion, or 120 colonies of 8 combs, the 

 total population to be the same in either 

 case? 



The difference may depend upon the 

 nature of the honey-flow, and might not 

 be very great; but it would undoubtedly 

 be in favor of the large colonies. There 

 would be only 80 entrances to guard 

 against robbers instead of 1 20. It would 

 take less bees to keep up the heat neces- 

 sary for 80 brood-nests than 120 smaller 



