and its Economic Management. i8i 



Here is Another Picture. 



Just look at the stock on nearly new combs, and th& 

 totally different state they present. They may be the 

 stronger lot in Autumn ; but now watch how rapidly their 

 stores disappear, there is little or no breeding through th& 

 cool season, and in Spring no great energy is displayed in 

 that direction until the other hive is almost ready to swarm,, 

 and yet the latter still has the larger reserve of stores. 

 Can any sane man question which is going to be the more 

 profitable colony ? 



Large Combs. 



There is another very important matter to be re-con- 

 sidered where honey-production as a profitable pursuit on 

 a commercial scale is to be carried out. No bee-keeper 

 dare neglect the advantages offered by large combs in the 

 stock chamber if he is looking for a reliable source of 

 revenue year after year. This desirable consummation of 

 many a bee-keeper's hopes has time after time been 

 utterly unattainable, because of the simple fact that the 

 hive used, more often than his own management, has 

 been quite unsuited to the object in view. The larger 

 comb-surface of the Cortimercial frame affords 



Or eater Security in Winter, 



from the fact that the combs are better filled because of 

 the more prosperous condition of the colony at all times> 

 while a larger stored surface is within reach of the winter 

 cluster, and early Spring breeding is more regular. 



Yet Anotlier Point 



of the greatest value, is the kind of stock the apiarist 

 keeps. A colony of bees that winter well, will usually do 

 well all the time. Consequently these should be bred 

 from as far as possible for securing queens to preside over 



