290 THE BEE keeper's MANUAL. 



small quantities, they will always give the bees plenty of 

 spare room for storage, and yet avoid discouraging Ihem, as 

 is so often done ■when large boxes are taken from them. 

 (See Chapter on Honey.) 



By removing frora time to time, the old queens, the colo- 

 nies can all be kept in possession of queens, at the height 

 of their fertility, and in this way a very serious objec- 

 tion to the non-swarming, or as it is frequently called, the 

 storifyjng system, may be avoided. If at any time, new 

 colonies are wanted, they may be made in the manner 

 already described. Tn ^districts where the honey harvest is 

 of very short continuance, the non-swarming plan may be 

 found to yield the largest quantity of honey, and in case the 

 season should prove unfavorable for the gathering of honey, 

 it will usually secure the largest returns from a given num- 

 ber of stocks. I therefore prefer to keep a considerable 

 number of my colonies, on the storifying plan, and am confi- 

 dent of securing from them, a good yield of honey, even in 

 the most unfavorable seasons. If bee-keepers will pursue 

 the same system, they will not only be on the safe side, but 

 will be able to determine which method it will be best for 

 them to adopt, in order to make the most from their bees. 

 As a general rule, the Apiarian who increases the number 

 of his colonies, one third in. a season, making one very 

 powerful swarm from two, (See p. 211,) will have more 

 surplus honey from the three, than he could have obtained 

 from the two, to say nothing of the value of his new 

 swarms. If, at the approach of Winter, he wishes to re- 

 duce his stocks down to the Spring number, he may unite 

 them in the manner described, appropriating all the good 

 honey of those which he breaks up, and saving all their 

 empty comb for the new colonies of the next season. The 

 bees in the doubled stock will winter most admirably ; will 



