12 



WHEN AND HOW TO START BEEKEEPING. 



One of the questions most frequently asked by the would-be bee- 

 keeper is, " When should I start beekeeping ? " Probably no time is 

 better than when the bees are swarming. If the beginner procures 

 a good prime swarm, leaves it in a clean box for three days, and then 

 hives it in a new hive, on new frames, with full sheets of foundation, 

 he has made the best start it is possible to make in beekeeping. The 

 leaving of the swarm in a box for three days is purely a preliminary 

 measure in case there is any disease in the apiary from which the 

 swarm is procured. By the end of three days the bees will have 

 consumed the honey they brought from their old home, and at the 

 same time have disposed of the foul-brood germs (which are innocuous 

 to the adult bee), and be ready and willing to be transferred to their 

 permanent home to start brood-rearing in earnest. 



As the bees will have become used to their box by the end of 

 three days, it is as well to carry out the transfer with care. It should 

 be done at sundown on the third day. The hive should be placed in 

 position, a clean sack spread over the alighting-board and surrounding 

 ground, and the hive-body raised from the bottom-board about an 

 inch or so by means of a stone or piece of wood. The box should be 

 firmly grasped with both hands, inverted over the sack as near the 

 hive as possible, and the bees dumped with a brisk movement on to 

 the alighting-board. One shake will dislodge the greater part of the 

 cluster, and the few remaining bees can easily be shaken out and the 

 box taken away. Be sure the queen is out of the swarm-box, and 

 the bees will crawl in a steady stream into the entrance — their progress 

 becoming more rapid as soon as the queen has entered the hive. 

 When the queen is safely inside, the hive-body should be lowered and 

 the entrance slightly contracted. 



It is advisable to place a feeder inside the hive. Even if the 

 weather is good and a fair supply of nectar available a few pints of 

 good warm syrup fed for a day or two after hiving will work magic 

 with the new colony, and enable it to build up in time to yield a 

 surplus when the main flow sets in. 



The beginner should always start in the spring, and on no account 

 should he attempt to commence with established colonies unless they 

 are purchased from a breeder who guarantees his bees to be clean. 

 Old colonies are too apt to be homes of disease, and are only fit to be 

 handled by the experienced apiarist. 



If swarms are unprocurable, which may be the case in some seasons 

 on account of weather conditions, arrangements can be made to pur- 

 chase sufficient three- or four-frame nuclei to make a start. These 

 are procurable at almost any time during the working season. The 

 advantage of nucleus colonies is that a good start can be made, as 

 when they are received all that is necessary is to transfer the combs 

 to the full-sized brood-chamber. Nucleus colonies are usually quoted 

 without queens, so that it is necessary to arrange for sufficient queens 

 at the time of ordering. 



Generally, Black bees are the most convenient to start with. Once 

 the beekeeper has made some headway and gained experience he can 

 then Italianize the apiary by purchasing queens from some reliable queen- 

 breeder. Italian bees are quieter, more vigorous, and better honey- 

 gatherers. 



