I would not exchange the hive I have used for the last ten years for any patent I ever saw, if furnished gratis. I will guarantee that it affords means to obtain surplus honey, as much in quantity and in any way which fancy may dictate, whether in wood or glass, and what is more than all, it shall cost nothing for the privilege of using.
SIZE IMPORTANT.
After deciding what kind of hive we want, the next important point is the size. Dr. Bevan, an English author, recommends a size "eleven and three-eighths inches square, by nine deep in the clear," making only about 1,200 inches, and so few pounds necessary to winter the bees, that when I read it, I found myself wondering if the English inch and pound were the same as ours.
SMALL HIVES MORE LIABLE TO ACCIDENTS.
At all events, I think it too small for our Yankee bees in any place. We must remember, that the queen needs room for all her eggs, and the bees need space to store their winter provisions; for reasons before given, this should be in one apartment. When this is too small, the consequences will be, their winter supply of food is liable to run out. The swarms from such will be smaller and the stock much more liable to accidents, which soon finish them off.
APT TO DECEIVE.
Yet I can imagine how one can be deceived by such a small hive, and recommend it strongly; especially if patented. Suppose you locate a large swarm in a hive near the size of Dr. Bevan's; the bees would occupy nearly all the room with brood-combs; now if you put on boxes, and as soon as filled put on empty ones, the amount of surplus honey would be great; very satisfactory for the first summer, but in a year or two your little hive is gone. This result will be in proportion as we enlarge our hives, until we arrive at the opposite extreme.
UNPROFITABLE IF TOO LARGE.
If too large, more honey will be stored than is required for their winter use. It is evident a portion might have been taken, if it had been stored in boxes. The swarms will not be proportionably large when they do issue, which is seldom—but there is this advantage, they last a long time, and are but little profit in surplus honey, or swarms.
CORRECT SIZE BETWEEN TWO EXTREMES.