THE SEASON'S MANAGEMENT 149 
springs to replace the wedge have come into very common use 
(Fig. 76). One of these springs is placed at each end behind the 
board and answers all purposes nicely. The springs are very 
easily removed from the filled super and the follower board can 
then be pried loose and the operator has plenty of room to get the 
sections out. It is surprising to the novice how tightly the bees 
will seal every crack and crevice about the hive. In cool weather 
these fastenings hold as though they were glued, and provision 
needs to be made in advance to meet this condition. Super 
springs are regarded as a necessity by most comb honey pro- 
ducers. 
THE SEASON’S MANAGEMENT 
We come now to the most important part of the bee-keeper’s 
business: the system of management. His hives may be of the 
best, all equipment may be the finest on the market, his bees 
may be of the best strain, and nectar may be present in abun- 
dance, yet if his system of management is not good his crop may 
be small. 
At this point every bee-keeper must begin to be a law unto 
himself and to develop the system that best fits his locality and 
conditions. The most that an author can do is to make general 
suggestions as no system will suit all men and apply to all con- 
ditions. In a country like this of such vast distances, the flora 
will vary widely, the climatic differences are so great and other 
factors are so frequent that too many things need consideration 
to permit detailed directions. The best possible advice is to visit 
the nearest successful bee-keeper and learn as much as possible 
of his methods. Even a few miles often makes great difference 
in conditions that the bee-keeper must meet, so one must look 
for those things that are different in order to know how far the 
system will apply to his own conditions. 
The bee-keeper needs to study general principles and to try to 
discover how they are affected by different conditions. Dr. 
Miller’s great yield of nearly forty dollars per colony on an aver- 
