HIVES. 
37 
NOT TO BE DEPENDED UPON. 
Further, these non-swarmers are not always to be 
depended upon as such. They will sometimes throw 
off swarms when there is abundant room in the hive 
as well as in the boxes. 
HIVES NOT ALWAYS FULL BEFORE SWARMING. 
I know Weeks, Colton, Miner and others, tell us the 
hive must he full before we need expect a swarm ; but 
experience is against them. Bees do sometimes cast a 
swarm before filling the hive. From close observa- 
tion, I find when a hive is very large, say 4000 cubic 
inches, and is filled with comb, the first season, that 
such seldom swarm except in very good years. 
SIZE OF HIVES NEEDED. 
But if such hive is only half full, or 2000 inches, it 
is very common for them to swarm without adding 
any new comb ; proving very conclusively that a hive 
that size, is sufficient for all their wants in the breed- 
ing season. When about 1200 inches only had been 
filled the first year, I have known them to add combs 
until they had filled about 1800, and then cast a 
swarm, proving also that a little less than 2000 will 
do for breeding. I have tested the principle of giving 
room to prevent swarming, a little further. 
AN EXPERIMENT. 
In the spring of ’47, I placed under five full hives, 
containing 2000 solid or cubic inches, as many empty 
ones, the same size, without the top. I had a swarm 
