DADANT SYSTEM CF BEEKEEPING 13 



than one story of Langstroth ten frame size to supply a good 

 queen with sufficient breeding room, at the time when we must 

 marshal our forces for the harvest. 



Additional evidences of the superiority of a large brood 

 chamber were plentiful when the results were weighed. Aside 

 from the fact that numerous old time beekeepers sang the praise 

 of large hives, even when- only logs or boxes, we found that the 

 increased population, from ample breeding room given to the 

 queen, unhampered by divisions or spaces, secured a much 

 increased harvest. Perhaps the most cogent evidence that we 

 can cite is the opinion of a farmer's wife on whose farm we had 

 located an apiary composed of both Dadant large hives and 

 ordinary Langstroth hives in about equal number, managed in 

 the same manner. We were paying these people for the rental of 

 the apiary site, in a share of the crop. The lady, who was a very 

 keen manager, asked us one day why we had brought any small 

 hives to their farm; why we did nor keep those hives at home. 

 She did not think we treated them fairly, for she could very 

 plainly see that the large crops came from the large hives and 

 she gave us to understand that she objected strenuously to our 

 keeping an apiary at their farm in future, unless we kept only 

 large hives there. Although we had seen for ourselves the ad- 

 vantages of large brood-chambers, nothing brought the matter 

 to our notice more forcibly than this avaricious complaint. 



However, it was necessary for us to keep some bees in standard 

 Langstroth hives, for very few people have, until lately, been 

 willing to buy bees in such large brood chambers as we use. 

 And yet, for success, especially in running for extracted honey, 

 there is no comparison in results. 



It is true that, with Langstroth hives of the standard size, 

 one may use a story-and-a-half or two stories, for brood. But 

 here we found objections. When the queens ascend from one 

 story to another, compelled by necessity, to find room to lay, 

 they hesitate in turning back. We have seen and have often 

 had reports of queens laying in three stories, so that their 

 brood was scattered everywhere in those stories. So the using 

 of a small hive, to be made larger by doubling it, is only using a 



