THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



161 



colonies ready for the harvest. Here is 

 what he says : — 



" I notice ou payn lit that Dr. Miller seems 

 to think it a thing incredible that any one 

 should have perfect control of his bees. 

 He says when his bees take it into their 

 heads to m>ike preparation for swarming 

 they don't nlways nimd what he says; and 

 he doubis wliether iiiine are much more obe- 

 dient. It is evident from the above he is 

 laboring under the impression that tiie pre- 

 vention of swarming is necessary to the per- 

 fect control of bees. With this view of the 

 c ise, perhaps he may be excused for being 

 rather skeptical. I did not intend to convey 

 the idea that the divisible-brood-chamber 

 hive gives me perfect control of the natural 

 instincts of my bees, but that, by working 

 in harmony with these instincts, and allow- 

 ing my bees to swarm, I get far better re- 

 sults in work ; and the divisible brood-cham- 

 ber, when contracted to the capacity of four 

 L. frames, as I use it for hiving swarms. 

 forces the bees into the sections, and the 

 work goes right ou with the added energy of 

 the new swarm. This is what I consider 

 perfect control of swarming ; and all who 

 are familiar with the workings of this hive 

 know how well it is adapted to this purpose. 

 And so on all along down the line of the va- 

 rious manipulations of this hive : always 

 keeping in view the natural instincts of the 

 bee as we iind them, we have perfect control 

 of our bees at all times. 



By interchanging the sections of the brood- 

 chamber of this hive as often as any honey 

 appears alone the lop-bar, we accomplish 

 tiie same object <hat Mr. Boardman and 

 others do by feeding sugar syrup — that of 

 getting all the white honey in the sections, 

 with th« advantasre that our brood-chamber 

 is crowded with brood clear to the top-bar 

 instead of having to buy sugar. This gives 

 perfect control of the honey-storing of our 

 bees ; and by contraction to the capacity of 

 4 L. frames, or expansion to any desired 

 limit, wp have perfect control of the brood 

 rearing of our bees. 



I have stated these facts as I have found 

 them by actual experience in the use of 

 these hive-, as a honey-producer, and am 

 not in any way int^ rented in the manufacture 

 or sale of any kind of *-,ives. It is true, 

 there is no liive that will please every one, 

 and there are many good hives now in use : 

 and perhaps in the hands of the average bee- 

 keeper this hive would give ■ o better result=, 

 if as eood, a« the ones they are u=ing. It 

 should be understood that thi* hive, without 

 following the system of manipulation for 

 which it is particulnrlv co structed, is no 

 better, if as good, than mo^t other hives in 

 nsp. But to the practical honey-prodncer 

 who wants to takf> advantage of a short 

 honey-flow to get the white honey in the sec- 

 tions, it is of real value, and I believe most 

 of those who have condemned these hives 

 have been compelled to do so by the improp- 

 er construction of the hives as they used 

 them. 



Most people make a mistake in making 

 their hives too large. They should not con- 



tain more than S frames, and the frames 

 should not be larger than 4'2 xl7 inches in- 

 side, and by all means they should be used 

 in a side-opening hive. This removes the 

 greatest objection I have ever found in the 

 use of these hives, and takes away all that 

 uncomfortable feeling B. Taylor experienced 

 whenever he had to manipulate those frames. 

 Again, Dr. Miller says the man who has 

 perhaps used it longer than any other de- 

 nounces it at last. Why didn't he go a little 

 further, and tell us that it took the gentle- 

 man referred to liO years to find out the weak 

 points of this hive ? and as I have used it 

 only Ave or six years, I think I may be ex- 

 cused for not having found them out yet. 

 In conclusion, my advice to beginners is, 

 go slow ; prove all things, and hold fast that 

 which is good. " 



How to get all of the Honey of the Fields 

 into the Sections. 



List month I referred to the plan of Mr, 

 Boardman, of feeding the bees just before 

 the honey harvest, but I did not have room 

 to copy the article in full. It is a little late 

 now to copy it, but in the Northern part of 

 the United States the harvest from white 

 clover does not commence until the fore 

 part of .June, and from the time that the 

 Review reaches these readers until the open- 

 ing of the white clover honey harvest, is 

 really the time when this feeding should be 

 done, if I understa d the matter aright, 

 hence I copy the following from Gleanings 

 and suggest that those of my readers who 

 can do so give the plan a fair trial. 



"Although this subject was quite fully 

 covered by our friend Mr. Boardman in our 

 colums a few months ago, it seems, from 

 the number of inquiries that are pouring in, 

 that the matter is not perfectly understood 

 yet, and perhaps it might be well to give a 

 few additional hints, with a little repetition, 

 perhaps, along at this time, especially since 

 this kind of feeding will need to be begun 

 now in two or three weeks. 



In the first place, the syrup should be 

 made by mixing sugar and water in equal 

 proportions. You can use heat to dissolve 

 tlie sugar if you prefer, but I do not think 

 it is necessary. Pour the sugar and water, 

 equal parts, into an extractor ca . and turn 

 vigorously for a few minutes. If you haven't 

 an extractor, use a tub and a stick. In half 

 an hour or po you will find a clear limpid 

 syrup ready to draw oft from the honey- 

 gate of the extractor into the feeders. 



A great many write, asking if it is neces- 

 sary to feed, providing the hive is fairly well 

 supplied with stores. Not so necessary ; but 

 if you wish to carry out the Boardman idea 

 as I understand it, it would be advisable to 



