It is essential to succesB in bee-keeping, that the bee-keeper or 

 some competent person should be on the 



2. Personal spot to give proper attention to the apiary 

 supervision essential, during the months from March to Septem- 

 ber inclusive ; with a small number of 



hives it is not necessary to devote much time to their manage- 

 ment ; but to work them to the greatest advantage, it is essen- 

 tial that the right thing should be done at the right moment ; 

 hence beekeeping is an industry especially suited to cottagers 

 and small occupiers, who^are not likely to be absent from their 

 homes for several days at *a time. 



The profits from bee-keeping are large compared with the neces- 

 sary cash outlay. As a rule, one bar-frame 



3. Profits. hive of bees properly looked after in a good 



honey district, will, after providing for 

 its own wants, produce on an average about 60 lbs. weight of 

 section honey in a season, worth, at 5d. per lb., £1 5s., so that, 

 allowing 10s. for necessary expenses, the actual profit may be 

 put at 15s., while the first cost of the hive, outfit, and stock of 

 bees is about £2. 



II. THE HONEY BEE AND ITS METHODS OF 

 WOEKING. 



In most localities the principal flower supply of honey prevails 

 during the months of June, July, and 

 i. Honey Supply. August, as well as in May in early districts, 

 and September in late districts ; and gene- 

 rally a strong stock in a bar-frame hive will not only support 

 itself throughout most of this period, and provide a surplus for 

 removal as above estimated, but will also lay by a sufficient 

 store of honey to support it through the winter (125). The 

 principal sources of honey supply in Ireland are — in the spring, . 

 the blossoms of fruit trees and of some forest trees, those of 

 gorse, blackthorn, gooseberry, and plum being amongst the 

 earliest; in summer, white clover and lime; and in autumn, 

 ling, heather, blackberry, ivy, &c. Districts in which white 

 clover flourishes, are particularly well suited for bee-keeping. 



The term " stock " of bees, when used in these instructions, 

 "i Q+nnV signifies the living bee population of a hive 



with its brood. 



The Queen Bee (Fig. 2) has a longer body than the workers, 

 and her wings are short in proportion to her 

 6. ftueen Bee. length ; she is provided with a sting, which 

 is used as a weapon of offence against rival 

 queens. The queen can be easily distinguished if looked for 

 before drones are hatched out, when the hive population is at 

 its lowest. Beginners, who are not familiar with the appear- 

 ance of the queen, should try to find her when they have occa- 

 sion to open the hive on warm days in April or May for spring 



