lyo FITTINGS AND APPARATUS. [Ch. iv. 



may have to forfeit its life for the mistake. Queens 

 returning from their wedding trip are liable to mistake 

 their hive if there is not a noticeable difference between 

 the entrances. A queen entering a hive already pos- 

 sessed of a fruitful sovereign would be certain to be 

 killed, and the loss to her own hive is a serious one. 

 Hives are often made queenless from this cause, and 



thereby reduced to utter ruin, the bee-master perhaps 

 attributing his failure to something altogether different. 



In lieu of houses an economical stand can be provided 

 by driving two rows of posts into the ground, one row 

 about twelve inches behind the other, and nailing upon 

 them rails two inches wide and thick. The hives may 

 stand upon these, with eighteen inches between them for 

 space for performing operations. But there is less fear 

 of jarring the other hives when the stands are separate. 



