BEE-KEEPING 275 



as it gives minute details of every operation 

 necessary in the apiary. 



One or two hives are enough to start 

 with. These should be bought early in 

 the year, so that there is plenty of time 

 to get them thoroughly well painted and 

 ready for use at the beginning of May, 

 when an early swarm may be purchased 

 for from 155. to ^i (according to district). 



If possible, obtain a swarm from a hive 

 which swarmed the previous season, so that 

 one gets a young queen in her second year, 

 when she is at her prime. The bees are 

 most likely to be sold in a skep (the old- 

 fashioned straw hive), from which they 

 must be transferred to the frame hive 

 which has been prepared with about six 

 or seven frames, fitted with full sheets of 

 foundation. 



Over the tops of the frames lay a quilt 

 of unbleached calico, with a feed hole cut 

 in the centre. 



m t i , . . How to hive 



To get the bees into the new hive, raise the bee-swarm 



