118 THREE ACRES AND LIBERTY 



There is always a farmer here and there who keeps a few 

 hives of bees. These often can be purchased at a very 

 reasonable price, but unless they are Italian bees and are 

 in improved hives, it would be better to purchase from some 

 dealer. He may sell you a very weak colony, but after the 

 first year these ought to be as strong as any. Start in the 

 spring; when you have your bees, read good literature on 

 the subject. A. I. Root's "A B C of Bee Culture" is good 

 for beginners; subscribe for the American Bee Journal, of 

 Chicago, or Gleanings in Bee Culture, Medina, Ohio. They 

 are full of the latest ideas on the subject. 



A yield of fifty pounds of honey in a season can be ob- 

 tained from one hive of bees in almost any locality. In 

 fact, this is often done where bees are kept in built up cities. 

 One hundred pounds would be considered a very small 

 yield by many apiarists, and twice this amount is often 

 gathered in favored localities where up-to-date methods are 

 followed. 



One man can take care of two hundred hives or colonies, 

 as they are termed, if he is w.orking for comb honey, and 

 perhaps twice that number if for extracted honey. 



Comb honey is stored usually hi one-pound boxes set in 

 a super or small box over the main hive body, which is itself 

 a box about seventeen inches long, eleven inches wide, and 

 ten inches deep into which frames of comb are slid side by 

 side. These combs are accessible and can be lifted out, 

 exposing to view the inner workings of the hive. It is in 

 these combs that the queen lays as many as three thousand 

 eggs some days, and in which the young bees are hatched. 

 They are also used for storing honey for winter use. 



The extractor has been invented to remove this honey 

 without damaging the comb. The economy of this can 



