MARKETABLE PRODUCTS ' 63 



v Colonies of bees may be sold at any time of the 

 year between March and October, although they, 

 are much more valuable in spring than in autumn. 

 A fair price for a good stock in spring is 25/- to 

 30/-, but in the latter part of the year they are 

 not worth more than £1. Both colonies and 

 swarms are very saleable, in fact I never knew a 

 season of late when the ^supply was equal to the 

 demand. In selling stocks be sure that they are 

 free from disease, and if they are sent off by rail 

 great care must be exercised in packing them. 

 Bees on combs travel badly. 



The packing of a frame hive will be found 

 described in the chapter dealing with heather 

 honey. If stocks are sold off, the supply, must be 

 kept up by raising new ones each season. This 

 may. be done by forming nuclei early in May, 

 giving each of them a queen-cell, and building up 

 these small lots into full colonies.' 



The sale of queens is becoming a very impor- 

 tant item in apiculture, but it is a branch in which 

 a reputation has to be made, and this often takes 

 several seasons of hard work. The most expensive 

 part of queen-rearing is in the fertilization of the 

 virgin queens, and where many are raised nearly 

 the whole of the stocks in the apiary have to 

 be broken up into nuclei for this purpose. Queens 

 fetch a good price in early spring and sometimes 

 in late autumn, and the breeder must lay his plans 

 to meet this demand. 



Much care and attention is needed in queen-. 



