2l6 



Nature-Study Agriculture 



Bee 



keeping 



The hive 



How to get 



straight 



comb 



W. T. Stilling 



FiG. 1 68. His first hive. One such colony should yield enough honey for the 

 family, and the boy, if a Scout, can earn a merit badge in learning to care for it. 



Making a start with bees is as simple a matter as 

 making a start with poultry (Fig. 168). A hive is no 

 more expensive than a chicken coop, and a colony of 

 bees to put into it may be purchased from a dealer in 

 bee materials if not from a bee keeper of the neighbor- 

 hood. A hive may very easily be made at home. The 

 inside dimensions of one of the standard hives are : width, 

 13! inches; length, iSi inches; and depth, 10 inches. 

 The dimensions should in any case be such that the hive 

 will fit the pound frames which are purchased from a 

 dealer in supplies. 



In order to induce the bees to build a separate comb 

 in each of the nine or ten frames placed in a hive, it is 

 necessary to put some starter in each frame. The 



