bee-keeper's manual. 187 



munication from one box to the other, is by two or three 

 such horizontal openings as appear in the cut, besides 

 that at the bottom. The sides of the hives that come in 

 contact, are but half an inch thick, instead of one inch, 

 the thickness of the other portions of them. The covers 

 or tops, are screwed on, and the loose bars are used as 

 represented in the cross-bar hive at page 138. When 

 the honey is taken from the collateral box, the lid is 

 taken off, and the leaves of combs extracted, when the 

 bees return to the original box. 



RELATIVE MERITS OF SUPEEING, ETC. 



The foregoing plan of obtaining the surplus honey 

 bears no comparison to supering or placing the box over 

 that occupied by the family. There is not a solitary 

 feature pertaining to it, that recommends its adoption. 

 The hives take up double the usual room ; and the 

 quality of the honey is inferior to that stored in supers, 

 being subject to much more bee-bread and larvae, and 

 besides this, the bees will not produce as much honey 

 and wax on this plan, as when supered or nadired. 



There is no plan equal to supering, when we take 

 everything into consideration. ) The queen seldom as- 

 cends ; but she will go into collateral hives, and into 

 those placed under her domicil, and absolutely destroy 

 the honey with her brood, so far as a ready sale or the 

 beauty of its appearance is concerned. 



There are instances in which the bees seem to dis- 

 relish ascending into supers, even when there is no lack 

 of numbers ; and the same is the case with collateral 



