22 A. AND M. COLLEGE APIARY. 



HOW TO SECURE BEES. 



If the beginner does not happen to have bees in box hives, his best 

 plan of obtaining bees will be to purchase them, provided, of course, that 

 he can get them at a reasonable price. What constitutes a reasonable 

 price must depend upon locality, condition and amount of the honey 

 crop, as well as upon the strength of the colony, amount of honey con- 

 tained in the hive, and the style or make of the latter. As a general rule 

 it may be considered that for either Italians or Black bees in box hives, 

 with a reasonable amount of honey, a price of $1.00 to $1.50 is amply 

 sufficient. For colonies in frame hives of antiquated or worthless pat- 

 terns, and the frames of which are of such a size as to fit the regular ten- 

 frame dovetailed hive, a price of $2.50 to $3.50 usually prevails. Black 

 bees or hybrids, with queen of the same kind, in dovetailed ten-frame 

 hives are worth on an average of $3.50 to $4.00 per colony. Colonies in 

 new or perfect ten-frame dovetailed hives with ten frames of honey and 

 brood, a strong force of working bees, and a good Italian queen, com- 

 mand the uniform price of $5.00 each. These prices may be higher or 

 lower according to demand, and according to whether the purchase is 

 made just previous to a honey season or just after it. In more favored 

 parts of the State, strong colonies in early spring often sell for as high 

 as $10.00 each, while in late summer they may not bring more than $3.00. 

 Colonies in bee trees as a usual thing are worth no more than the time 

 and labor required to take them out and transfer to frame hives. At 

 times, however, the honey obtained in addition to the bees is sufficient to 

 pay handsomely for the work and the bees remain as profit. While it is 

 not generally profitable to pay parties for bee trees, a quarter or half 

 dollar invested in their good will may ultimately be found profitable. 



LIFE AND HABITS OF THE BEE. 



In order to be a successful bee keeper one must understand at least 

 something of the domestic economy of the hive, and must have a knowl- 

 edge of the way in which bees are reared, honey stored, combs built, etc., 

 A knowledge of all this will make clear to the novice how he may perform 

 certain work and operations without disturbing the domestic arrange- 

 ments of the bees and how he may in many cases aid them in their work, 

 thereby increasing the honey yield and avoiding losses of both bees and 

 honey. Inside of the hive will be found three distinct forms of adult 

 bees, namely, the queen, workers, and drones (see Plate II). Only one 

 queen is found in each colony, and her sole duty is to deposit the eggs 

 from which all bees are hatched. She alone is the egg layer and is the 

 mother of all bees hatched in the hive. Having no other duty to perform 

 she is specially adapted by nature for her egg-laying duties. She is even 

 fed by worker bees, who accompany her constantly and see to her wants. 

 From cell to cell she goes quietly at her work, depositing in each a small 

 white egg, cylindrical in form and approximately 1.8 millimetres (about 

 7-100 of an inch) in length. In appearance the queen is much longer 

 than the worker bees and is also slightly thicker and broader. However, 

 on account of her lengthened abdomen, she appears much more slender. 

 Her abdomen is not as distinctly banded as that of a worker and is 

 usually of a uniform tawny or dark color throughout. The thorax is 



