and tts Economic Management. 421 
inches wide. As the stored combs are given just before 
closing no robber bees are on hand; but where empty 
combs or foundation have to be inserted, feed carefully 
every evening until the hive is well supplied. 
Taking average lots, the number to put together to 
make a fair stock should be as follows, according to the 
manner in which their house may be furnished—with 
stored combs, two swarms; with empty combs, three ; 
foundation, four. 
Driven Bees and Foundation. 
It should be realized that it is quite useless to supply 
driven. bees, or equally late swarms, with both combs and 
new sheets of foundation. They will neglect or only work 
the foundation in a patchy way, while bulging out the 
combs with the stores supplied to them. 
With foundation only, if the bees are fed rapidly the new 
combs are evenly developed, and soon a fair sized brood 
nest is set up. With combs only, rapid feeding also results 
in a more satisfactory condition, and develops the larger , 
brood nest. 
Uniting directly to other Stocks. 
A wasteful plan, which results only in the loss of bees 
and time, is that of adding driven bees to. weak colonies at 
home. Without considering that fighting is certain to 
cause the death of thousands in the hands of many bee- 
keepers, but too frequently these bees only die out before 
Winter is half over, leaving the stock worse off than before. 
To be in any way satisfactory for this purpose the 
driven bees must first be made to develop a fair-sized 
brood nest in another hive on the spare combs of such lot ; 
when plenty of young bees are hatching ¢hen unite to 
your weak lot, saving the queen most to be desired. 
Feed and prepare for Winter as hitherto shown. 
