FEBRUARY 1. 1915 



you in the shape of a swarm, have some one 

 make you a present of lliem, or buy them. 

 In this article 1 ]iurpose tolling how to se- 

 lect them during daylight. 



I remember when 1 first bought bees that 

 I thought the weight of great value. Was 

 not honey worth so much a pound? Did not 

 tiu' weight indicate honey? Why, yes (I 

 have a feeling that way still, and honey is 

 honey; and with me it is a rare thing for 

 the apiary on an average to 

 have loo much honey). The 

 novice then goes through the 

 apiary, lifting the hives and 

 selecting the heaviest. This is 

 illustrated in Fig. 1 by weigh- 

 ing the colony. A nicely paint- 

 ed hive will also attract the 

 beginner. But these points ^ 



take second plac^. 



HOW TO SELECT. 



In purchasing bees, other 

 thing's being about equal, I 

 should want to buy them in 

 the Langstroth hive. There 

 are other hives as good as this 

 for honey production. In fact, 

 I would gladly have the frame 

 an inch deeper, or even a little 

 more, or a little shorter and 

 deeper; but when I come to 

 consider the handicap in get- 

 ting supplies, especially when 

 there is a rush, and the supply- 

 dealer is fully occupied with getting out 

 a regular line of goods, then I see the 

 wisdom of using regular lines. Then if I 

 or those after me want to sell the bees and 

 fixtures, and I look back upon an experience 

 of thirty years in beekeeping, then I know 

 that the bees in the Langstroth hives, unless 

 in a very restricted area, sell the best and 

 bring the best prices. I know of many in- 

 stances where beginners have acted contrary 

 to advice, and in years to come they or their 

 widows and families have found out the 

 correctness of this statement. I would take 

 the largest Langstroth hive I could get ; but 

 take a Langstroth, even if the hive is only 

 an eight-frame. The frames, at least, are 

 correct, and can be put into a larger hive. 



But I would sooner buy a colony in an- 

 other hive, if it were numerically strong in 

 bees and brood, than buy a weak one in the 

 Langstroth. If I were in the apiary on a 

 fine day when the bees are flying, gathering 

 honey and pollen in fruit-bloom (and that 

 is the season to buy) I would select for my 

 inspection the colonies into which the most 

 bees flew in a minute. This is illustrated in 

 Fig. 2. Move to one side so as not to im- 



pede the bees. This will give proportionate 

 strengtli of the bees. Select the best. 



Next take the smoker, or have the bee- 

 keeper lake il, and examine the contents of 

 the hive. If the combs cannot be taken out 

 because they are not straight, then they are 

 little if any better than a box hive. In fact, 

 for transferring they may be worse. 



If the combs are movable, examine for 

 brood — capped, uncapped, and eggs — and 



Fig 



The beginner <-ounting the number of bees entering in 

 a minute. 



the more of this the better, for it will soon 

 be flying bees. If the colony is strong there 

 will doubtless be drone brood as well as 

 worker brood. There will be found two sizes 

 of cells — one a little larger than the other. 

 The brood in the larger will be capped 

 rounding in contrast to the smaller capped 

 flat. That in the larger cells is drone 

 brood, and is undesirable. The drone comb 

 is objectionable because it enables the queen 

 to deposit drone eggs in the cells, and the 

 bees to rear drone brood. The drones, for 

 tlieir production, use the energy of the bees. 

 Thej' use up stores in their production, but 

 tliey never gather stores. A little poorer 

 colony with worker comb is better. 



Up to this point I have said nothing 

 about the variety of bees. Give Italians the 

 preference. They are a great deal better 

 than the common black bee. Owing to the 

 prevalence of European foul brood they are 

 probably better than Carniolan bees; and 

 they are heller than Carniolan for the in- 

 experienced, because it takes more careful 

 management lo keep them from swarming. 

 A colony of black bees, if otherwise much 

 superior, I should prefer, because it can be 



