It may be good weather for eight days and the flow of honey abundant and the strong colony may in that time gather all its winter stores, but the weak ones can take only sufficient advantage to gather at most one-fourth of the required stores. If unfavorable weather should follow, and the flow of honey cease, the strong colony is supplied and the four weak ones are lost in the winter if they be not fed, which latter is associated with much expense, trouble and inconvenience and even then often fails, not to mention the facts that the weaker ones cannot depend upon themselves as well against robbers, moths, ants, etc.; and in winter they cannot maintain the proper warmth as well, are more liable to be frozen, and are less able to stand the changes in temperature. They cannot rear brood as early as the strong one and there are many advantages the strong one has over the weaker, one of the most prominent of which is that the strong one displays more energy and is more industrious than the weaker. IN THE ORDINARY STRAW SKEPS ONE CANNOT CARRY OUT ONE’S DESIRES COMPLETELY IN MANAGING BEES. As important and well known as the fact now is of having the colonies strong, one cannot make them so if they are kept in the common, simple straw basket where one does nothing but destroy in a slovenly way, especially farmers. In the fall they take the heaviest and lightest colonies and in a sinful and thoughtless manner kill and smother its inhabitants thus doing themselves a deliberate injury, as if they permitted these useful creatures, these patterns of industry, to live, they would gain far more. I once saw a beekeeper take a very heavy colony consisting of two colonies which in swarming clustered together, and smother them, because he thought that owing to the large number of bees the colony might not have enough winter stores. Yes! a clown of a fellow actually burned with straw his young swarms, because they came rather late. But I do not intend to occupy my time describing the wrong mode of keeping bees, as through the length and breadth of the land this has been so passionately spoken of and they will learn, only as matters progress, to adopt a better mode of beekeeping. THE MAGAZINESTOCK[6] ARE CONVENIENT, PARTICULARLY WITH THE WOODEN TOP BOXES WITH A GLASS SIDE. If one wishes to build up populous colonies, one must commence by controlling swarming: namely, swarming often. To do this, one must provide roomy dwellings and those that can be enlarged gradually; without this the object would fail. If one should give the bees a large dwelling at once they would become discouraged and would not half fill the hive and there would be many other disadvantages. The dwelling must also be arranged in such a manner that the bees can be handled with ease and without damage to the bees, or ever to have to destroy the latter to enjoy the product of their industry and control their surplus in honey and wax.