HIVES. 43 



APT TO DBCBIVK. 



.1 \ i can A.nagine bow one can be deceived by such 

 a hinai) hive, and recommend it strongly ; especially 

 if patented. Suppose you locate a large swarm in a 

 bive near tbe size of Dr. Bevan's ; tbe bees would 

 occupy nearly all the room with brood-combs ; now 

 if you put on boxes, and as soon as filled put on 

 empty ones, the ara'ount of surplus honey would be 

 great ; very satisfactory for the first summer, but in 

 a year or two your little hive is gone. This result 

 will be in proportion as we enlarge our hives, until 

 we arrive at the opposite extreme. 



DITPROFITABLE IF TOO LARGE. 



If too large, more honey will be stored than is requir- 

 ed for their winter use. It is evident a portion might 

 have been taken, if it had been stored in boxes. The • 

 swarms will not be proportion ably large when they do 

 issue, which is seldom — but there is this advantage, they 

 last a long time, and are but little profit in surplus 

 honey, or swarms. 



CORRECT SIZE BETWEEN TWO EXTREMES. 



Between the two extremes, like most other cases, is 

 found the correct place. A hive twelve inches square, 

 each way, inside, has been recommended as the cor- 

 rect size. ' Here are 1728 cubic inches. This, I think, 

 is suf&cient for many places, as the queen probably 

 has all the room necessary for depositing her eggs ; and 

 as the swarms are more numerous, and nearly as large 



