30 THE CONTROLLABLE BEE HIVE 



would attack me whenever occasion offered. I 

 soon found that if not impossible^ it was certainly 

 impracticable to prevent bees swarming by cutting 

 out the queen cells. It was a surprise to me that 

 this plan should be recommended by bee keepei-s 

 claiming to be well skilled in bee management. 

 After proving this plan of no value, I was told if 

 I would contract the entrances to my hives so the 

 queen could notpass, I could thereby successfully pre- 

 vent swarming, as the sw^arm would not leave without 

 the queen. This looked to me like a very nice 

 operation, to say the least, in fact, more nice than 

 wise. However, I determined to test the plan. 

 I accordingly contracted the entrances to my hives, 

 and lo ! the drones being larger than the queen, 

 they could not pass ! So, they clustered about the 

 entrance, and in their efforts to get out, completely 

 blocked up the passage, so the workers could not 

 pass. Yet this plan of conti-acting the entrance 

 was claimed to be protected by letters patent of 

 the U. S. I found this plan for preventing swarm- 

 ing of no value whatever. Very many other plans 

 were tendered me and tested with like results. I 

 was all this time pushing my experiments, and 

 learning something from experience every day. 

 I was determined to arrange and construct a hive 

 which would render bee keeping successful and 

 profitable, and I can say at the present time, my 

 labors have been rewarded with success. 



I ought to go on and write out a description of 

 all the old methods of bee keeping, and all the 

 patent bee hive humbugs, with the thousand and 



