BEE-KEEPING IN WAR-TIME g 



with the W.B.C. hive building up can be carried out to any 

 extent. 



In commencing bee-keeping it will save much disappoint- 

 ment and annoyance if only one kind of hive is used. A 

 museum of all the different types is a source of endless worry, 

 as the parts are not interchangable, which is the case when 

 only one pattern is used. 



Hives cost money, therefore the thrifty person saves this 

 expense by constructing his own. The work is within the 

 scope of any ordinary intelligent person, male or female. 

 Although working drawings can be purchased for this pur- 

 pose, the better plan is, after having decided upon the pattern 

 of hive to be adopted, to borrow or buy one as a model 

 to work from ; by this means the work is made much more 

 simple and far more accurate. Inexpensive material such as 

 " Quaker oat boxes" or "Tate's cube sugar boxes" can be 

 utilised. A good water-tight roof is essential; this can be 

 made by covering the roof with calico which is then well 

 painted. 



II 



THE POPULATION OF THE HIVE 



A KNOWLEDGE of the inhabitants of the hive, and the contri- 

 bution of each one to its economy, is essential for success in 

 bee-keeping. If this is not obtained, then one of two things 

 is bound to happen : either the bees wiU suffer or the owner 

 will not get the best result from his stock. 



It is in the summer only that the hive has its full com- 

 plement of inhabitants; these consist of one queen, about 

 forty thousand workers, and several hundred drones. In the 

 winter, drones are absent. 



The queen does not rule the hive, as might be supposed 

 from her name ; at the same time she is the most important 

 bee in the home, for, being fully developed, she is the mother 

 of every other bee in the colony. The formation of the 

 queen's body is different from that of the other bees ; she is 

 sUmmer and longer, the wings are a little shorter and fold 

 more neatly, the coloration of the back is darker. Her 

 movements over the comb are slow and majestic. Under 

 natural conditions the queen will live about five years, but 

 after her second season, which is the best, her power of pro- 



