CHAPTEE VII. 

 HIVES. 



CoTTAGEE Hives. 



The results obtained by systematic management are, 

 as may be readily imagined, such as recompense the 

 bee-keeper for expenditure of time and money, and 

 prove the absurdity of the let-alone system that has 

 been so much in vogue. More depends upon the 

 style of hive adopted than is generally supposed, for, 

 whereas a swarm weighing, say 4 lbs., if put into a 

 straw skep, may give a surplus the first season of 

 20 or 30 lbs., and the second season 40 lbs. or more, 

 if put into a bar-frame hive, and treated as yet to be 

 explained, under equally favourable circumstances, it 

 might be expected to give 40 or 50 lbs. the first season, 

 and 50 to 100 or more the second year. Many cases 

 might be quoted to prove that when bee-keeping is 

 taken up with a view to profit, the style of hive to 

 adopt requires very careful consideration. 



To many cottagers and labourers, whose ideal hive 

 is the straw skep, advice on the more advanced 

 systems of bee-culture will be, at any rate for a time. 



