476 Journal of Agriculture , Victoria. [10 Aug., 191 2. 



with lin.iod. and some stores. When received it is transferred to a hive 

 and frames with starters or full sheets of foundations added tOi till the box. 

 Three-frame nuclei may be obtained of Italian Ijees at 15s. to 25s., accord- 

 ing to the kind of queen chosen with them, and black or hybrid bees at 

 los. tO' 20s., or either may lie bought in full-sized hives with the additional 

 frames in pcsition for 5s. each extra. Under favorable conditions, if 

 obtained early enough in the season, nuclei will rapidly build up into full 

 colO'uies and have the advantage that the beginner is not troubled with 

 hiving, and possibly losing swarms during the first sea.son. 



The first cost of hives, frames, and comb-foundation appears high, and 

 manv beginners think that money can be saved by making their own hives 

 and frames. It will be found, however, that when timber of the proper 

 qualitv is purchased in small quantities the cost per hive is verv little less 

 than that of one bought already prepared. In any ca.se, it is advisable 

 to purchase at least one hive and frames sO' as to have a pattern to work 

 by. Californ'an red wood is decidedly the best timber for hives, it is free 

 from knots, shrinks very little, does not warp, and is never eaten by white 

 ants, which in some localities are very destructive tO' hives. 



If the first cost has to be cut down to a minimum, temporary hives may 

 be made out of kerosene or petrol cases. The frames which should be 

 of the self-spacing kind (Hoffman) had better be bought, as they require 

 to be made very accurately, so that later on they can be transferred to per- 

 manent hives. To' construct a frame hive out of a kerosene case, one of 

 the broad sides is taken off, while the opposite one serves as a floor for 

 the hive. The original Ud of the case is nailed on as a side, the former 

 bottom of the case forming the other. At the bottom at one end an open- 

 ing 6 in. by Yq in. is cut out as an entrance for the bees, and a strip of 

 wood 3^ in. thick (such as the thin boards of the case), is nailed to the 

 inside of the ends of the case Yq in. from the upper edge. This is to 

 suspend the frames from. A roof for this hive may be made out of the 

 broad side taken off the case. It should, however, be covered with some 

 waterproof material and shaded to prevent excessive heat melting the combs 

 in the hives. Hoffman, or other full-depth frames .should always be 

 wired, as without wires new combs often lireak out in handling the frames, 

 or fall down in hot weather. When two sets of half-depth or shallow 

 frames are used wiring may Ije dispensed with. 



If in making two shallow bodies out of a kerosene case, Y i'l- ^s cut 

 off the ends of the case crossways before sawing it in two lengthways the 

 resulting half-depth bodies will exactly lit on an eight-frame hive, on 

 which: it may be used as a super when a i)roper hi\-e is adopted. A diffi- 

 culty usually experienced by beginners is that, not wishing to purchase a 

 honey extractor right away, they attempt to raise comb-honev hi i lb. 

 sections. It is well known amongst apiarists that the profitable produc- 

 tion of section honey requires considerable skill and a good honey locality. 

 In the case of beginners both these factors are usually absent, wdth the re- 

 sult that the bees sooner than start work in the sections will repeatedly 

 swarm, and the season will be over before the swarms have become strong 

 enough to store any surplus of honey, whereas if frames had been used in 

 the super instead of sectious swarming would have been prevented to- a 

 great extent, and a fair amount of honey secured. With shallow^ unwired 

 frames the honey may be obtained by cutting out the comb, leaving about 

 y2 in. on the top bar to act as a guide for a new comb. The dim.ensions 



