THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



13 



like that. Use your own judgment 

 about that; as to ventilation, I 

 never give any where our bees are 

 in under cover out of the sun, as 

 they are with us. I let the bees 

 tend to that. I have placed some of 

 these double hives in terribly hot 

 attics, but they seem to do equally 

 as well as where it is not so hot. 



This I think answers all your 

 questions quite fully. I hope it 

 will be a help to you in getting 

 started right. 



In conclusion you will notice I 

 always use and recommend for a 

 brood chamber two 8 frame stand- 

 ard hives, one above the other al- 

 ways. 



With best wishes, I am. 

 Yours truly, 



J, A. PEARCE. 



1542 Hampshire Rd., 

 Victoria, B. C, Can. 



October 19, 1914. 



J. A. Pearce, Esq., 



Dear Sir: 



Last spring I got from the Fruit 

 Belt Publishing Co. a copy of the 

 "Pearce Method of Bee Keeping." I 

 was so impressed with the simplic- 

 ity of it that in the beginning of May 

 I bought a hive of bees. They seemed 

 very strong as there was a large vol- 

 ume of bees going out and in. I 

 have never kept bees before and 

 knew nothing about opening up the 

 hive to see what condition they were 

 in. I got them home and established 

 them in my garden and after a day 

 or so they settled down to work. On 

 the first of June, I put on an extra 

 hive body filled with full sheets of 

 brood foundation and on top I put 

 two surplus with section boxes with 

 strips of starter. From that date the 

 bees were left absolutely alone. To 

 my very great surprise, on the 23rd 

 of June they threw off a large swarm, 

 which I was fortunate enough to hive 

 without much trouble. Now, what 

 could have caused them to do that? 

 They could not possibly have filled 

 the extra hive body, as it had been 

 on only three weeks and even if they 

 had, there were the two supers, but 

 there was nothing in them. They had 

 not even started to draw comb. The 

 hive body, however, is full of fine, 

 dark honey, all of which I am leaving 

 so as to have a fine, strong colony in 

 the spring. 



Then, as to drones, when should a 

 drone trap be used? In the hot days 



of July there seemed to be as many 

 drones as workers coming out of the 

 hive, so I bought a drone trap and 

 in three applications I killed over 

 2,000 by actual count. Did I do right? 

 The more I work with bees the more 

 fascinated I get and although I got 

 no returns this year, except the 

 swarm, I look for big returns next 

 summer, if all goes well. If you have 

 any other literature on beekeeping 

 kindly let me know, as I would like 

 to get it. 



With kind regards, 



Yours sincerely, 



L. 0. PATERSON. 



Rural 1, Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 October 31, 1914. 

 Mr. L. O. Paterson, 



1542 Hampshire Rd., 

 Victoria, B. C, Can. 

 Dear Sir: — 



Your very interesting letter of Oc- 

 tober 19 is at hand and I hasten to 

 reply to your questions. The reason 

 your bees swarmed was because you 

 did not put your second body on soon 

 enough. It should have been put on 

 when you established your swarm. 

 Then the bees would have drawn out 

 the foundation for the queen to de- 

 posit eggs in and would have had it 

 full of brood in advance of the honey 

 flow, and then when the honey flow 

 came on, the bees would have been 

 obliged to put the honey in the sec- 

 tions as there would have been no 

 other place to put it. But not hav- 

 ing this body on till the honey flow 

 came on, the bees immediately pro- 

 ceeded to fill this upper body with 

 honey as fast as this foundation was 

 drawn out. In case honey is coming 

 in the bees will proceed to fill all 

 available space, regardless of every- 

 thing, and filling this body with honey 

 restricted the space for the queen to 

 the lower body and made it as if 

 the upper body had not been put on. 

 As regards to any increase of capac- 

 ity for the queen, as soon as ever 

 so little honey is deposited in the 

 cells they are of no use to deposit 

 eggs in. Therefore, as soon as the 

 queen becomes hampered for space 

 to lay, queen cells will be started and 

 swai'ming will be the result. The 

 honey cases being empty and un- 

 drawn did not relieve the difficulty 

 any, as the queen would not go up 

 there to deposit eggs and the honey 

 flow likely was over about the time 

 the large body was filled. And 

 swarming coming at about this time 



