32 BEEKEEPING IN THE SOUTH 



Stung. Your gentleness and actions with the bees largely deter- 

 mine their treatment of you. A bee brush, hive tool and other 

 articles are useful. Get a supply catalog and study its pages. 

 There is a wealth of information in the pages of a good supply 

 dealer's catalog. You will find there why the various appliances 

 are used, and much of the "how" of their apphcation. 



If swarms, nuclei, or packages of bees are bought, the hives 

 must first be purchased, set up, and made ready for the bees. 

 Delays of shipment make it imperative that the supplies be or- 

 dered long before they are needed for the bees. Waiting for hives 

 with the bees on hand means their certain loss to you. In choos- 

 ing hives, it is well to avoid fads. The ten- frame so-called "stan- 

 dard" hive is the standard of the bee world of today. This hive 

 is a good one to choose. Do not choose more than one style or 

 size of hive. Inability to interchange parts of hives is a nuisance 

 in the apiary. The value of well made goods cannot be over- 

 estimated, and it is well worth while to pay a price which will 

 bring you materials to last a lifetime, rather than flimsy, shoddy 

 goods at a lower price. 



Comb or Extracted Honey? 



Every beginner is confronted with the problem of whether 

 or not to begin with comb honey or extracted ("strained") 

 honey production. Here are some simple rules for guidance. 

 What does your grocer sell best? He is most willing to buy that. I 

 Find out. Then learn what your principal nectar secreting plants 

 are, and whether or not they yield in short, intense flows, or 

 give nectar over long, slow periods. Short, sharp flows of light 

 colored nectar are excellent for section honey. Slower flows, 

 and dark colored nectar, are best for extracted honey. The 

 adoption of either should be governed also by what you can sell 

 best in your locality. Pick out your hive supers to correspond. 

 Most beginners in the past have begun with comb honey, be- 

 cause the initial expense was less. Comb honey usually sells for 

 more on the market than other styles of honey packages. How- 

 ever, it requires a better beekeeper to produce comb honey than 



