112 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



ony with bees enough to cover well three frames is likely to 

 hold its own, beginning to increase slowly as soon as weather 

 permits ; and if it has bees enough to cover four frames it will 

 walk right along increasing its brood-nest. 



GIVMG BROOD TO STRONGER. 



Shall I take frames of brood from strong colonies to give 

 to the weaklings? Not I. For the damage to the strong colo- 

 nies will more than overbalance the benefit to the weaklings. If 

 any taking from one colony to give another is done in the spring, 

 it will be to take from the weak to give to those not so weak. 

 If one colony has four frames of brood and another two, tak- 

 ing from the stronger frames for the weaker would leave 

 both so weak they would not build up very rapidly, whereas 

 taking one from the two-frame colony and giving it to the 

 four-frame colony would make the latter build up so much fast- 

 er that it could pay back with interest the borrowed frame. 



GIVING BROOD TO WEAKER. 



Not till a colony has six or eight frames of brood is it 

 desirable to draw from it brood for weaker colonies, and there's 

 no hurry about it then. When a colony has its hive so crowded 

 with brood that the queen seems to need more room, then a 

 frame of brood can be taken from it to help others. The first 

 to be helped are not the weakest, but the strongest of those 

 with less than four frames of brood. When the three-framers 

 are all brought up to four frames, it is time enough to help 

 the weaker ones. Toward the last the little fellows can be 

 helped up quite rapidly. Perhaps a colony with two or three 

 brood (if you will allow me to use brood for short when I mean 

 frames of brood) has had brood taken from it, leaving it with 

 only one brood. It has stood for several weeks, and now it can 

 have three or four brood given to it, setting it well on its feet. 



When brood is thus taken, generally the adhering bees ai-e 

 taken with the brood, of course making sure that no queen is 

 taken. Where a single brood is given with adhering bees to a 

 colony, I have never known any harm to come to the queen of 

 the reinforced colony. In rare cases I have had the qae&a, 



