FIFTY YEARS AMONG THIS BKES 



28? 



till perhaps the middle of May, most of my colonies would 

 have room enough in one half of a ten-frame hi\'e. I am not 

 sure that any of them ever need more room through the fall 

 and winter, and in the spring they need no more till more than 

 four frames are needed for brood. With some, this may come 

 quite early, but I think I should be well satisfied if I could 

 get all my colonies to contain four combs well filled with 



Fig. 105 — Weighing Colonies. 



brood by the middle of May. Some of them may have at that 

 time brood in nine or ten frames, but more of them could have 

 all their brood crowded into three or four combs. 



ADVANTAGE OF DOUBLE HIVES. 



Now if, during the time I have mentioned, we can ha^■e 

 two colonies in one hive, we shall, I think, find it advantageous 

 in more than one direction. It is a common thing for bee- 

 keepers to unite two weak colonies in the fall. Suppose a bee- 

 keeper has two colonies in the fall, each occupying two combs. 

 He unites them so they will winter better. If they would not 

 quarrel and would stay wherever they were put, he could place 

 the two frames of the one hive beside the two frames in the 

 other hive, and the thing would be done. Now, suppose that 



