THE APIARY. 81 
transferred. This operation may be more readily per- 
formed, and they may be transported with less liability 
of breaking the combs, and thereby injuring the bees, 
than if the combs are more new and tender. If such 
colonies have cast swarms the previous year, which is 
usually the case, they will contain a young queen; be- 
sides, stocks of this age are very apt to be more popu- 
lous than younger ones. 
If good swarms of the previous season can be found 
in movable comb hives, and are not to be moved a 
long distance, there will, of course, be no objection to 
selecting such. Choose hives with straight combs and 
such as have the most worker comb. The item of the 
utmost importance at this period is, that they shall be 
very populous ; this is almost positive proof that most 
of the other desirable conditions are present. 
Since the marked diminution of foul brood in this 
country, the precautions to avoid introducing it, need 
not be so rigidly observed as was insisted upon in the 
earlier editions of this work. 
COST OF BEES AND FIXTURES. 
The cost of a colony of bees will of course vary in 
different localities. In New York, the price of a good 
swarm of native bees in a box hive, has been about $5.00, 
at any season of the year. More recently, good swarms 
have been sold for $4.00 in the fall, and $5.00 in the 
spring. This has seemed a fair price when honey realiz- 
ed the better prices that it did afew years ago; but with 
the present reduction in the price of honey, I anticipate 
a corresponding decrease in the cost of bees. 
Those buying from dealers, where the bees are already 
in movable frame hives, with straight worker combs, in 
proper condition, will probably pay $8.00 each, for natives 
and $10.00 for Italians. Empty hives will cost from $1.00 
