ADVANCED BEE-CULTURE. 



our attention, they are the cause of much 

 being gathered. " 



These remarks of Mr. Cheshire natural- 

 ly introduce the question of the size of 

 hives. That the hive should be adapted 

 to the size of the colony, the season, etc., 

 is admitted by all, but as to how a change 

 in size shall be effected there is difference 

 of opinion. If the combs are very deep 

 it is impractical to change the size of the 

 brood nest, except laterally, and by the 

 aid of division boards; but this method 

 allows a most complete control of the de- 

 gree of contraction. Changing the size 

 of the brood nest vertically is practical 

 only with shallow combs; and the shal- 

 lower the combs the more perfectly can 

 this method of contraction and expansion 

 be managed. 



For awhile before swarming time a 

 large brood nest is needed; larger, at 

 least, than is needed after the main har- 

 vest has come. As top-storing and tier- 

 ing-up are now almost universally prac- 

 ticed, and as bees work much more read- 

 ily in sections that are over the brood, it 

 is evident that a hive allowing vertical 

 contraction is the one for " contraction- 

 ists" to use. 



If contraction is not to be practiced, 

 then there arises the question of what 

 size shall be the brood nest? Some plead 

 for a generous space, that the queen may 

 not be "cramped for room, " as though 

 this condition of affairs were very unde- 

 sirable and unprofitable. Were queens 

 expensive, this plea would be worth con- 

 sideration; but, as the capital is in the 

 combs, honey and hives, rather than in 

 the queens, the question as to which shall 

 be kept employed at the expense of the 

 other's idleness, needs no argument. If 

 the size of the brood nest is to remain un- 

 changed, then let it be of such capacity 

 that an ordinarily prolific queen will fill it 

 at the height of the breeding season, Let 

 the size be less than this, rather than 

 more. Eight Langstroth combs, or their 

 equal, will furnish sufficient room. 

 Many in arguing for large hives, mention 

 how much larger yields /«;- colony are se- 



cured. True; but do they secure any 

 more per comb. Bee-keeping ought to be 

 viewed in a broad light. The question is 

 something like this: Here is an, area of 

 honey producing flowers, how shall we 

 secure the nectar with the least expendi- 

 ture of capital and labor ? Small hives 

 enable us to secure a more complete fill- 

 ing of the combs with brood, consequent- 

 ly more workers for the combs we have. 

 Small hives may cost a trifle more in 

 proportion to their size, than large hives, 

 but as an offset there is the greater ease 

 and quickness with which they are han- 

 dled. 



Aside from a small brood nest, to secure 

 a more complete filling of the combs with 

 brood, or to lead to more rapid work in 

 the sections, there may be mentioned the 

 making of hives in such a manner that 

 they may be inverted. The masses have 

 not seemed to take kindly to inversion. 

 Like many new things, it was extrav- 

 agantly praised; but it is far from value- 

 less. Perhaps one reason why inversion 

 is not more generally practiced, is because 

 it has been discovered that, with a hive 

 having a horizontally divisible brood 

 chamber, the interchange of the parts ac- 

 complishes the same results as inversion. 



In northern climates, bees need more 

 protection in winter than is afforded by 

 a single wall hive. In Michigan this is 

 best afforded by a cellar; farther south 

 some kind of packing is probably prefer- 

 able. Whether this packing shall be in 

 the shape of the so-called chaff hive, or 

 in something of a temporary nature that 

 can be removed in summer, is a point up- 

 on which bee-keepers differ. It is true 

 that temporary packing calls for extra la- 

 bor, and there was a time when it also 

 resulted in some untidiness and unsight- 

 liness in the apiary during the winter, 

 but the neat outer case and improved 

 methods of packing that are now being 

 adopted, have removed the latter objec- 

 tion, and greatly reduced the former. 

 These methods of temporary packing are 

 cheaper than chaff hives, while the ad- 

 vantage of having light, single-walled 



