CHAPTER VI 
Strong versus Medium Colonies at the Opening of the Harvest 
HOW A COLONY MAY REACH MATURITY TOO EARLY FOR THE 
HARVEST, AND THUS DEVELOP THE LOAFING AND 
SWARMING MANIA; THE DOUBLE-STORY TEN- 
FRAME HIVE FOR THE PREVENTION OF. 
SWARMING, AND THE BUSY MAN WHO 
_ HASN’T THE TIME TO EQUALIZE 
bs BROOD 
[‘'The ideal colony must not be over-populous. A hive is over-populous when its 
working force is too great in comparison to the dimension of the hive and to the number 
of wax-building bees. 
‘‘Such a condition is intolerable to the bees and they try to help themselves by loaf- 
ing. Their instinct teaches them to begin this loafing even before the hive is over-popu- 
lous. The bees seem to see thé combs are filled and capped, that the bees are daily hatch- 
ing, and that they will soon be crowded. A colony in such a condition will never perform 
the wonders in gathering honey that we expect from one less populous. Such a colony 
feels instinctively that its abode will soon be too small, and the swarming fever sets in; 
and we know that when this is awakened, the bees will continue to loaf. At the most, 
only as much honey will be gathered as is needed for making the swarming preparations. 
A colony with the swarming fever is of little value as a honey-gatherer.—GRAVENHORST. ] 
It is rarely that one finds so much in so few words as is 
expressed in the above quotation. The thought comes in here, 
that there is a condition involved that is hard for the average 
beekeeper to comprehend—that is, if a colony of bees comes to its 
best or full working strength just two or three days before the 
honey-flow is on, that swarm is very likely not to store more-than 
one-half as much surplus as one that comes to maturity just with 
the flow. This, of course, is with the supposition that neither one 
should cast a swarm. 
The other, or medium-sized colony, may not have wintered 
quite as well as the other, but had a good queen that kept what 
workers there were in the colony just hustling to take care of 
what eggs she supplied, coupled with all the other work of the 
hive, so that there was not a single minute but that every bee in 
the hive had all it could do, and many times more. Such a colony 
is ready for the harvest when the season does open up. 
Let us look inside of the other hive—the one that was ready 
before the harvest was on. They have come to maturity a few 
days too early for the season. Although they may not have any 
