THE CONTROLLABLE BEE HIVE. 29 



the next winter, after passing the summer in idle- 

 ness. Other stocks with apparently not so many 

 bees will swarm several times ; often swarming so 

 much as to reduce the number of bees so low that 

 tlie bee moth will effect its destruction during the 

 summer ; there not being bees enough to protect the 

 combs from the attacks of tliis destructive little in- 

 sect. This swarming problem I found very diffi- 

 cult to solve. There were so many conflicting 

 theories, I found I could gain no positive, reliable 

 information from any source, to aid me, and that I 

 must solve the problem by practical experiment. 



Experience is a good teacher, but often a very 

 costly one. Some told me if I wished to pre- 

 vent swarming, I must cut out the queen cells, 

 which the bees constructed preparatory to swarm- 

 ing. This was simply impossible with the box 

 hive, so I constructed a hive with movable frames, 

 so the bees could build their combs in the frames, 

 and each comb of the hive could be lifted out separ- 

 ately. But when I attempted to prevent swarming 

 by cutting out the queen cells, I found if I was to 

 thwart nature in that way, I had, to say the least, a 

 big job on my hands. I could cut out the queen cells, 

 but within twenty -four hours after I had done this, 

 the bees would have others constructed, and be 

 ready to swarm, and as I kept cutting, they would 

 keep building. They had the advantage of num- 

 bers and position, and when I opened the hive 

 every day and destroyed such, to them, important 

 work, they were not long in declaring and pro- 

 claiming me to be an enemy to them, and they 



