farmers' institutes. 291 



loom, when to put on and when to take off supers of sections or extract- 

 ing frames, will get more pounds of honey from a colony than the man 

 who keeps them in a box hive and gives them little or no attention, yet 

 it is a question whether the former gets enough more to pay for his 

 extra trouble and expense. It is right that the man who turns all his 

 attention to bees, as in any other industry, should be better rewarded 

 than the man who gives it but little attention. 



Now, brother farmers, why not get you a "stand" or two of bees, 

 and spend fifteen or twenty minutes in making a box hive ready for the 

 swarm when it issues, and raise your own honey? You need be at 

 very little expense, even though you have a dozen or more colonies. You 

 ■can make all vour own box hives, as vou have all the tools necessarv. 

 You will need a bee-smoker to control them and assist you in hurry- 

 ing them in the hive while they are swarming, as there are always a 

 few that linger around, careless about going in. This smoker will cost 

 about one dollar. If you are afraid of getting stung, use a veil. Try 

 it, and see how easily you can keep your table supplied with one of 

 the most wholesome sweets, and if you turn it over to your wife, she 

 will make it a source of a nice little income, with very little expense 

 or trouble to you. If you have to buy your start, get them with as 

 much Italian blood as possible, as the Italians are a little better honey 

 makers and will keep their hive clean of moths if they have a good 

 queen. 



In keeping bees in a box hive, the greatest trouble is the moth worm, 

 as there is no way to look after this pest. While I would advise every 

 one to keep his bees in a movable frame, I would rather you kept them 

 in a box hive than not to keep them at all, and if the simple instruction 

 J have given above is followed, they will prove a very valuable adjunct 

 to the farm. 



