104 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



GIVING BROOD TO WEAKER. 



Not till a colony has six or eight frames of brood is it 

 desirable to draw from it brood for weaker colonies, and there's 

 no hurry about it then. When a colony has its hive so crowded 

 with brood that the queen seems to need more room, then a 

 frame of brood can be taken from it to help others. The first to 

 be helped are not the weakest, but the strongest of those with 

 less than four frames of brood. When the three-framers are all 

 brought up to four frames, it is time enough to help the weaker 



Fi;/. 35 — Part of Home Afiarij {[rum SoutluvesI ] . 



ones. Toward the last the little fellows can be helped up quite 

 rapidly. Perhaps a colony with two or three brood (if you will 

 allow me to use brood for short when 1 mean frames of brood) 

 has had brood taken from it, leaving it with only one brood. 

 It has stood for sexeral weeks, and now it can have three or 

 four brood given to it, setting it well on its feet. 



When biood is thus taken, t;enci'ally the adhering bees are 

 taken with the brood, of course making sure that no queen is 

 taken. Where a single brood is given with adhering bees to a 

 colony, I have never known any harm to come to the queen of 



