84 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 



Can bees be prevented from swarming 1 Yes, by the use 

 of ekes ; and wbat are these ? Additions or enlargements 

 from below — that is to say, eked or lengthened. Hives 

 are eked by riddle-rims, or hoops made of four or five roUs 

 of straw of the same description as those in a straw-hive, the 

 same width as the hives raised by them. These ekes are 

 fastened to the hives by nails or staples going into both, 

 and the junctions covered with any kind of cement or 

 paste. 



Straw ekes, like straw hives, are better than wooden 

 ones. The sides of an old hive make two ekes, if pro- 

 perly cut and sewed a little. 



Are ekes better than supers for getting a great weight 

 of honey ? Very much ; for bees can put more than 

 3 lb. of honey into ekes for every 2 lb. they can put into 

 supers. (This is another proof of the superiority of hives 

 of simple construction over those that are complicated.) 

 Bees not only gather more honey, but they breed more 

 by the use of ekes, and are thus prepared to do more work 

 for the future. The markets will determine whether eking 

 or supering is the most profitable. If the price of honey 

 be Is. per lb., and comb Is. 6d. per lb., the one mode of 

 enlargement will appear equal to the other for profit. In 

 the use of supers there is the risk (in hot seasons very 

 great risk) of swarms coming off unexpectedly and flying 

 away. In the eking mode there is the trouble of extract- 

 ing or running the honey and jarring it for sale. 



But eking hives does not always prevent their bees 

 from swarming'! Not always, but in ninety -nine cases 



