THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 343 



information came from a party from the north who told me where 

 I could secure them. Prices were secured and live hives ordered. 

 After setting them up I saw great merit in them and ordered five 

 more, making ten in which new swarms were hived. I closed the 

 next season with 100 swarms, ten of which were in movable comb 

 Langstroth hives. It is needless to say that I as delighted with 

 the new hives and saw that their merits as far exceeded those of 

 my hive as mine did over those used by others in this locality, and 

 I at once began handling bees on movable combs. 



Right here I went to bee-keeping in dead earnest, and my 

 ambition rose to a great height when I looked at what I had done 

 with the bees heretofore, for I had been securing season after 

 season good crops of fancy honey, for which I had received good 

 prices ; for the returns from the bees had paid for the lot they were 

 located upon, and the lumber I had used in making hives, the work 

 shop, and also the ten factory hives I had bought. After paying 

 these bills, there was a nice little sum to their credit, but none of 

 it was used outside the bees. There was not enough to buy the 

 needed 100 dovetailed hives, but there was enough to buy 40 com- 

 plete hives and inside furniture for 60 more, also lumber to make 

 60 bodies. This lumber was worked up by hand and the 100 com- 

 plete hives made ready for the next season's increase. 



To do this I had to work many nights until 12 o'clock, but you 

 may be sure the task was a pleaasant one to me and I never grew 

 weary as the hours passed by. 



The great task of transferring these bees was before me. I 

 posted myself as best I could along the line of transferring bees, 

 and when the first swarm issued, was a signal that the time had 

 arrived to begin the work. This took me from my other work four 

 days. Three of my colonies were too weak to transfer, leaving 87 

 colonies to transfer. I put my reasoning faculties to work and 

 before I opened a hive I had "hatched" out a plan of my own by 

 which the bees would transfer themselves. This method proved a 

 factor in my business for a number of years. I will give this plan 

 fully in my next article. The bees were all made ready to transfer 

 themselves in one day and the next morning found me back on my 

 other job. The bees did not swarm much with this niethod of 

 transferring, and a good crop of honey was harvested, 



A Honey Extractor Is Purchased 

 Toward the close of this season my first extractor was bought 

 and put in use. When fall came, the job of transferring was over 

 and with a little decrease and some increase, but 100 colonies were 

 put into winter quarters that fall. Two hundred colonies Avere in 

 fine shape, and a nice little bank account was placed to their credit. 

 This bank account was to be used in the business another season. 

 This apiary was my "hobby" and it took the winter a long time to 

 roll by, so anxious was I to get out with the bees the next spring. 



