CHAPTER IV. 



ESTABLISHING AN APIARY: TIME SELECTING HIVES OF BEES- 

 MOVING BEES SELECTION OF SITE. 



Spring is the best season to establish an apiary, especially for a per- 

 son unacquainted with the practical care of bees. Colonies in good 

 condition procured then are more easily kept in order by the novice than 

 if purchased in the fall. Mistakes in management may possibly be rem- 

 edied before the season closes, and by the time it is necessary to pre- 

 pare for the winter the learner will have gained a certain amount of 

 practical knowledge of the nature and requirements of the bees. If 

 the start be made late in the season mistakes, if they occur, may result 

 fatally before the proper remedy can be applied. 



The beginner had better obtain his start by purchasing one or two 

 colonies of pure Italian or Carniolau bees in accurately made frame 

 hives and in first-class condition. These he should get from some bee- 

 master of repute near his own place, if possible, in order to avoid 

 expressage and possible damage through long confinement or numerous 

 transfers. The cost per colony may be $6 to $8; yet bees at this price 

 will generally be found much cheaper in the end, for, though common 

 bees in box hives may frequently be obtained for half or even less than 

 half as much, the cost, when finally transferred into frame hives, fitted 

 up with straight combs, and the common queens replaced by Italians 

 or Carniolans, will not be less. The possession of a colony already in 

 prime working order gives the novice a standard with which to com- 

 pare all others and often enables him to avoid costly experiments. 

 Another plan, also commendable, is to agree with some neighboring 

 bee keeper to deliver as many first swarms on the day they issue as are 

 wanted. These will give the right start if placed as soon as received 

 in hives with foundation starters and the frames properly spaced 1| 

 inches from center to center, it being understood that the swarms are 

 early and prime ones, with vigorous queens. Only those issuing from 

 colonies that have swarmed the year before or from such as were them- 

 selves second swarms of the previous year should be accepted. Swarms 

 from these will have queens not over one year old. It is better to have 

 queens of the current year's raising, but these can only be obtained by 

 taking the second or third swarms from a given hive, which come Inter 

 and are smaller, or by substituting young queens for those which come 

 with the swarms. 



SELECTION OF STOCKS. 



The relative strength of different stocks may be determined by 

 watching the flight of the bees. The playing of the young bees in 

 front of the hive is apt to deceive one. This lasts but twenty minutes 



35 



