'F;ic*i©:i3Lcl Jti©©'^'^ 11l©m^© A,p;lati^,y^® 



THE A B C OF BEE CCJI^TUIiE. 



Supplement to April No. 1877 ; and Tenth Edition Circular and Price List. 



Descriptive Frice List of Implements for See Culture, with Directions for Using. 



Manufactured by A. I. ROOT, Modina, O. Establisbed 1870. 



tisers near you. This will save all labor of 

 transferring, and you will get much better 

 combs than those usually found in a box hive. 

 If your hive was purchased near home, you 

 can move it by simply tying or tacking a 

 cloth over the lower end, that the bees may 

 have plenty of air ; if it has a stationary bot- 

 tom, cover the entrance with wire cloth, and 

 if the weather is by any means warm, some 

 holes should also be provided in or near the 

 top, covered in a similar way. One of our 

 first purchases was smothered by giving them 

 no ventilation while moving, except a small 

 entrance, and although they were carried but 

 a small distance, they got so hot as to melt 

 down all the combs leaving me nothing but 

 strained honey and dead bees, for my $10. 

 Our experience indicates that there is very lit- 

 tle danger of giving too much ventilation while 

 moving, but that there is much danger of giv- 

 too little. We prepare the Simplicity hives, 

 by tacking wire cloth over the entire top; 

 when thus prepared, we have never known 

 them to crawl out of the hive in all directions 

 into the dirt as they often do when partially- 

 smothered. We will suppose you nave your 

 first colony safely home, and are ready to com- 

 mence taking the first step right. In other 

 words, you are going to start your apiary. 



THE APIARY. 



In the picture at the head of this page, we 

 have given you an idea of one of the pleasant- 

 est we have ever visited, yet our friend has we 

 think missed it, in placing his hives too far 

 apart, for we find 6 feet from centre to centre, 

 of the hives, to answer every purpose, and the 

 labor is very much lessened. You who have 



^|p|f,0 you ask why I commence thus ? It is 

 JU|) because there are many more asking to 

 be taught the very first principles, than 

 anything else, and if I ever write a " bee book," 

 it will be especially for this very class, who 

 when they look into bee culture for the fli'st 

 time, seem never wearied in asking for more 

 and more knowledge. 



It is a very good thing to ask (luestions my 

 friends, but with bees, you should bear in 

 mind that the greatest and best teacher of all, 

 is nature herself ; and those who persistently 

 question her, are sure of a reward such as no 

 mortal can give. Do you ask how ? Get a 

 hive of bees and study the little fellows them- 

 selves ; they certainly will not object, if you 

 make their acquaintance with the same res- 

 pect that you would give any human being of 

 whom you wished a tavor. 



I would advise you to get the bees about as 

 soon as you get your ABC book, for you 

 really need one about as much as the other. 

 If your means are limited, get a colony in an 

 old box hive, for these can usually be pur- 

 chased the cheapest. If you can buy one in a 

 Langstroth hive, perhaps you can aff'ord to 

 pay a couple of dollars more, but it you are 

 just commencing, I would advise you to trans- 

 fer them from anything else, even if it is ever 

 so well made and covered by ever so many pa- 

 tents You had better not pay over !?5. for a 

 colony of common bees, for we can send you a 

 colony of hybrids in a one story Simplicity 

 hive for only f 7., and you can very likely get 

 them for about that price of any of our adver- 



