Aprii., 1920 



GLEANINGS IN Bl^. E CULTURE 



229 



I 



c 



TALKS TO 



By lona 



N our first les- 

 son we indi- 

 cated brit'lly 

 the differiMit 

 ways in which 

 one may pur- 

 chase bees. Tliis 

 was only to lu'lp 

 the beginner in 

 making his plans 



for obtaining the colonies. In the spring 

 as soon as a little honey is coming in and 

 the bees flying freely, probably May in 

 Northern States, the colonies may be ob- 

 tained and taken home. It is, therefore, 

 necessary at this time to explain a little 

 more fully concerning their purchase. 



How to Purchase. 

 It will be remembered that we strongly 

 advise the purchase of good colonies in good 

 hives, if possible, otherwise good colonies 

 in poor hives or swarms to be hived in the 

 beginner's new hives, or pound packages 

 of bees. Whenever combs are purchased 



BEGINNERS 



Fowls 



1 



Good colonies in good hives. 



with the bees, an experienced beekeeper 

 should be taken along with the beginner to 

 decide on the value of the colony and 

 whether or not the bees are healthy. 



If in healthy condition, their value will 

 depend entirely upon the size of the colony; 

 the age, prolificness, and strain of the 

 queen; the condition of the combs, whether 

 crooked, or full of drone cells, etc.; the 

 amount of stores contained in the combs; 

 and the condition and style of the hive. 

 Povind Packages. 



If obliged to buy from a distance, the 

 safest and best way is to buy the two- or 

 three-pound packages, whicli are wood and 



wire cages con- 

 taining bees but 

 no frames nor 

 combs. A small- 

 ('!• package than 

 t wo p u n d s 

 should not be 

 purchased. With 

 each package 

 should be order- 

 ed n queen to be introduced by the shipper. 

 In the North such packages, if obtained in 

 April or May, are easily built up into good 

 colonies if one follows the directions that ac- 

 company the package. Also see page 205 of 

 this issue. 



The packages must, of course, be kept 

 supplied with stores until the honey flow. 

 It is to be hoped that the beginner may 

 purchase at least one full colony from which 

 he may take one frame of sealed brood to 

 give his package-bees. Also, if they can be 

 given frames of comb instead of frames of 

 foundation, they will build up much more 

 rapidly. A two-pound package should have 

 at least four combs, and three-pound pack- 

 ages six. More may be added later as the 

 small colony increases in size. These combs 

 should be shoved over to the side of the 

 hive and a division-board placed at the in- 

 side. Crowding the frames over to one side 

 like this gives a smaller space for the bees 

 to keep warm and, therefore, results in less 

 danger of the brood 's chilling on cool nights. 

 Also, the hive entrance should be contracted 

 to but a small opening and covered with the 

 piece of queen-excluder that comes with the 

 package. The use of the excluder prevents 

 the nucleus from swarming out and leaving, 

 and the contraction of the entrance keeps 

 the brood from chilling and prevents rob- 

 bers from entering the hive. Bees from 

 other colonies near sometimes overpower 

 a small nucleus and steal their stores; but, 

 with a small entrance % by % inch, the 

 bees of the nucleus can more easily repel 

 such unprincipled invaders. Of course, 

 after the colony builds up a little, the en- 

 trance may be somewhat enlarged. 



Good Colonies in Old Hives. 

 Sometimes it is possible to buy good colo- 

 nies in old hives so neglected that the 

 combs are built all crisscross and are quite 

 immovable. The main objection to such a 

 purchase is the trouble of transferring into 

 new hives and the danger that the combs 

 may be contaminated with foul brood (a 

 disease that affects the brood only). If 

 the combs are immovable, they cannot be 

 examined to make certain that the brood 

 is all right. 



For the sake of those, however, who may 

 feel oVjliged to buy in this sight-and-unseen 

 way, we shall explain later how such colo- 

 nies may be moved home and transferred to 

 modern hives. 



Buying Swarms. 

 Very good colonies jnay sometimes be se- 

 cured at a low price by leaving hives con- 

 taining necessary fixtures with some farmer 



