bee-keeper's manual. 121 



mooted, as well as many other important questions, 

 touching the management of bees, in any work pub- 

 lished in either Europe or America. 



The case lies simply here : — you may put a queen 

 into a hive suited to her requirements, and you may then 

 give her just as many workers as she ought to have ; 

 that is, the number that will readily construct the re- 

 quired complement of combs, and have the various 

 branches of labor pertaining to the family all progress- 

 ing harmoniously, without any branch being retarded, to 

 the detriment of other branches. You may then add to 

 this specific number of bees that constitute just enough, 

 a few more thousand, and you derange all their labors, 

 by an excess of laborers. Every one knows, that when 

 a body of mechanics are at work on any kind of employ- 

 ment, and as many are thus employed, as can conveni- 

 ently find room to labor in, that if another body of men 

 be thrust in to aid them, that instead of being an aid to 

 them, they would actually retard the work. So it is 

 with a family of bees. When once a family have 

 enough laborers, more are worse than useless, and they 

 retard the labors of the family, by crowding among the 

 combs, and also farther injury is done, in consuming the 

 stores in a greater ratio to their increase, than when the 

 proper number of bees only occupy the hive. 



A LACK OF WORKERS DISASTROUS TO THE FAMILY. 



The same, or rather equally disastrous effects follow 

 the lack of a sufficient number of bees to perform the 

 necessary labors of the family. The queen requires 



