Suppose, therefore, we leave from thirty to fifty pounds of honey in the hive, is it not evident we have trenched that amount of space upon the breeding territory? Then, if the season is a good one for honey, this room is constantly being diminished by the bees depositing honey in the cells as soon as the brood leaves, the result of which will be your young swarms will be too small, and by winter the old ones, for the want of breeding room, are too few to raise sufficient animal heat to winter. Even if the proper amount only is left in the hive in the spring, and the season is a good one for honey, the hives should be examined, say the first day of August, and the outside sheets that are filled with honey and have no brood in them, be removed, and empty sheets or frames placed in the centre of the hive that the queen may have more room. Thirdly. We examine the hive to see if there is too much drone comb (and any is too much in a large apiary) for if you remove all, the bees will find means to raise drones enough, as in a hive with the ordinary quantity there are probably enough for an apiary of fifty or seventy-five swarms. Fourthly. We examine the hive to determine if the queen is living, and if so, if she may not be a drone layer. The question will be asked by some how we determine if she is living, or is a drone layer. If there is no queen there will be no brood, and _vice versa_, and if the brood be _all_ drone, there would be no doubt of her being a drone layer. In either case, the swarm should be doubled up with a swarm that has a normal queen; the drone layer should first be killed. Fifthly. In performing these examinations it is an excellent plan to transfer each swarm to a clean hive, as the rabbets have often become partially filled with propolis or gum, as are also the ends of the frames covered with it, and sometimes the hive may want repairs. We have seen that this examination is one of paramount necessity. The better place to operate is perhaps in a room or place with a single window, or a half window is better, and the room should be so warm that the bees will not chill upon the window. It should be so arranged that the bees that gather thereon may be frequently liberated; the weather should be sufficiently mild for them to fly from the place to the hive. A decoy hive should be set upon the stand, with a few pieces of comb in it; the decoy hive should be of the same color as the one being operated upon. An active person can examine twenty hives in a day with an assistant. This examination may be performed out of door at the stands, were it not for the fact that it is a season of the year when the robbers are most persistent. In performing these operations, it will be found advantageous to blow in a little smoke at the time of opening the hive.