HIVES. ■ 87 



NOT TO BB DEPENDED UPON. 



Further, these non-s warmers are not always to be 

 depended upon as such. They will sometimes throw 

 off swarms when there is abundant room in the hive 

 as well as in the boxes. 



HIVES NOT ALWAYS FULL BEFORE SWARMING. 



I know "Weeks, Oolton, Miner and others, tell us the 

 hive must be full before we need expect a swarm ; but 

 experience is against them. Bees do sometimes cast a 

 swarm before filling the hive. From close observa- 

 tion, I find when a hive is very large, say 4000 cubic 

 inches, and is filled with comb, the first season, that 

 such seldom swarm except in very good years. 



SIZE OF mVES NEEDED. 



But if such hive is only half full, or 2000 inches, it 

 is very common for them to swarm without adding 

 any new comb ; proving very conclusively that a hive 

 that size, is sufficient for all their wants in the breed- 

 ing season. When about 1200 inches only had been 

 filled the first year, I have known them to add combs 

 until they had filled about 1800, and then cast a 

 swarm, proving also that a little less than 2000 will 

 do for'breeding. I have tested the principle of giving 

 room to prevent swarming, a little further. 



AN EXPERIMENT. 



In the spring of '47, I placed under five full hives, 

 containing 2000 solid or cubic inches, as many empty 

 onea the same size without the top. I had a swarm 



