170 Hints for Purchasing. 



unless you find bees in such hives as you are to use, it will 

 be best to buy them in box hives and transfer (see Chapter 

 VII) to your owfn hives, as bees in box hives can always 

 be bought at reduced rates. In case the person from 

 whom you purchase will take the hives back at a fair rate, 

 after you have transferred the bees to your own hives, 

 then purchase in any style of movable comb hive, as it is 

 easier to transfer from a movable comb hive than from a 

 box hive. Some bee-keepers have purchased a queen and 

 bees by the pound, and thus secured colonies at very slight 

 expense. A single pound of bees with a queen will develop 

 into a good colony in a single year. 



WHEN TO PURCHASE. 



It is safe to purchase any time in the summer. In April 

 or May (of course you only purchase strong stocks) if in 

 the latitude of New York or Chicago — it will be earlier 

 further south — you can afford to pay more, as you will 

 secure the increase both of honey and bees. If you desire 

 to purchase in autumn, that you may gain by the expe- 

 rience of wintering, either demand that the one of whom 

 you purchase insure the safe wintering of the bees, or else 

 that he reduce the selling price, at least one-third, from his 

 rates the next April. Otherwise the novice had better 

 wait and purchase in the spring. If yoii are to transfer at 

 once, it is desirable that you buy in spring, as it is vexa- 

 tious, especially for the novice, to transfer when the hives 

 are crowded with brood and honey. 



HOW MUCH TO PAY. 



Of course the market, which will ever be governed by 

 supply and demand, must guide you. But to aid you, I 

 will append what at present would be a reasonable schedule 

 of spring prices almost anywhere in the United States: 

 For box hives, crowded with black bees — Italians would 

 rarely be found in such hives — five dollars per colony is a 

 fair price. For black bees in hives such as you desire to 

 use, eight dollars would be reasonable. For pure Italians 

 in such hives, ten dollars is not too much. 



