260 
Beekeeping 
from the frames of a strong colony in front of the entrances 
of those to be helped. The young bees go in and are accepted, 
while the field bees return to their original hive. The queen 
must, of course, not be shaken in this way. The advantages 
of having colonies develop at about the same rate and of 
reaching the honey-flow equally strong in bees, are as fol¬ 
lows : (1) the colonies are ready for a given manipulation at 
the same time, thus allowing the work to be well systema¬ 
tized ; (2) less hive-bodies are needed than if strong colo¬ 
nies are given supers in accordance with their individual needs; 
(3) when properly done, equalizing probably results in an 
actual increase in the total number of bees in the apiary, 
since every queen is more nearly capable of egg-laying to 
her full capacity and no queen is restricted by having only 
a small number of workers to feed her brood; (4) less manipu¬ 
lation is necessary when the honey-flow begins (especially 
in comb-honey production) in sorting combs of brood and 
in reducing the brood to one hive-body, if this is practiced; 
(5) the brood is compact and this is especially desirable in 
comb-honey production. 
The work of equalizing colonies is considerable and the 
beekeeper must determine for himself whether it is profit¬ 
able. In the management of out-apiaries, this work neces¬ 
sitates extra trips which come at a time when the average 
beekeeper has all the work that he can do. Making colonies 
all in one mold often fails to bring to light the deficiencies 
of some queens and the superior qualities of others for 
breeding stock. If a brood disease is present or is even 
known to be present in the neighborhood, there is danger in 
moving combs about so freely. 
Clipping queens. 
The clipping of the wings of queens is advantageous in 
the control of swarms, as will be shown later, and to find 
queens in the spring is easier than later. In clipping the 
queen, she is lifted from the comb, held securely but gently 
between the thumb and index finger of the left hand and a 
