BEGINNING WITH BEES. 



68 



BEGINNING WITH BEES. 



large a scale. Sometimes one is offered a 

 bargain of 2o or 80 colonies including hives, 

 bees, implements, smokers, etc., at a ridicu- 

 lously low price, and the temptation becomes 

 strong to buy. He'd better not, unless having 

 read the several articles indicated in the fine 

 print on the first page of this work. 



After investing $25.00, put no more into 

 the business until the bees bring in some 

 returns. In other words, make the bees j)(iy 

 their ivay. It is a very easy matter to throw 

 away some good money into the venture 

 and get no returns ; because bee-keeping as 

 a business is something tnat depends more 

 upon the w^eather than perhaps any other. 

 For this reason we do not advise any one to 

 rely on bees as a sole means of livelihood. 

 True it is that there are many bee-keeping 

 specialists ; but they are men who have 

 gradually grown into the business, and as a 

 general rule have a specially favorable loca- 

 tion, keeping somewhere from 500 to 1000 

 colonies. 



The keeping of bees is generally more suc- 

 cessfully carried on in connection with some 

 other business. Many a professional man 

 desires some sort of light recreation, and a 

 few bees will afford him just the diversion 

 he needs. Farmers, fruit-growers, or horti- 

 culturists, may keep from 50 to 100 colonies 

 without greatly interfering with any other 

 work ; and nearly every one, as explained 

 under Apiary, can keep a few colonies in 

 his back yard. Ten or twenty colonies will 

 yield almost a certain return of a much 

 larger revenue, per colony, than ten times 

 that number. See Profits in Bees, else- 

 where. 



Having considered some of the difficulties 

 and uncertainties of bee-keeping, one may 

 now inquire whether he desires to go into 

 the business at all. With the knowledge 

 that from 10 to 20 colonies can nsually be 

 handled successfully, and at a good profit, 

 the beginner will naturally desire to try his 

 hand at it. How shall he make his start? 

 Whenever possible, buy bees in your own 

 vicinity. Regarding the price, a strong col- 

 ony of Italian bees, with tested queen, in a 

 new Dovetailed hive, or in any modern hive, 

 in fact, might he worth $10.00. This should 

 be considered the outside price. Usually 

 bees that are hybrids or blacks, in movable- 

 frame hives, second hand, sell from $3.00 to 

 $5.00 per stock, including hive. If there are 

 no modern bee-keepers in the vicinity one 

 may have to purchase a box hive or two with 

 the combs all built solidly into the hive- 

 see Box IIivEs. Tlie price of these, if they 



are blacks or hybrids, is generally from $1.00 

 to $3.00 per hive. 



To move colonies in box hives, turn the hive 

 upside down, and tie over the end a piece of 

 cheese-cloth. The moving should be done 

 at night, or at least on a cool day, carrying 

 them a distance of at least a mile and a half, 

 otherwise many of the bees will return to 

 their old location. See Moving Bees. 



In some localities it may not be possible 

 to buy bees of any one. In such case send 

 to the nearest dealer for a one or two frame 

 nucleus. If one doesn't mind expense, let 

 him purchase four or five nuclei and then 

 proceed to build them up as described under 

 Nucleus and Feeding. 



Before purchasing any bees he should get 

 of his dealer or manufacturer five or ten 

 modern hives in the flat. As there are sev- 

 eral such hives on the market, all of them 

 fairly good, the beginner may be at a loss to 

 know which of them to choose. For comb 

 honey we would recommend the Danzen- 



THREE- frame NUCLEUS FOR SIIIFPING. 



baker or Dovetailed hive. For particulars see 

 Hives. They are sold by all the dealers ; 

 and as these hives are used largely by expert 

 bee-keepers who carry on the business quite 

 extensively with good results, the novice 

 will not go far astray by adopting them. 



As soon as the hives are received in the 

 flat, nail them up and paint them. With 

 every lot of hives there will be suflicient 

 nails of the right kind to put them together. 

 If one can not afford to take the time him- 

 self, let him employ some carpenter, who, 

 with the printed directions, will be able to 

 put them together in a workmanlike man- 

 ner. (A carpenter is not needed, however.) 



