^^ BEE-FARMING. 



about three feet apart, on a stand of its own— it is far 

 cheaper in the end. We should advise anyone just begin- 

 ning bee-farming to adopt the small thatched bee-shed 

 hereafter described, with just room enough for three 

 hives, and have it so arranged that it may be easy to get 

 to any side of the hive, whenever desirable ; this can easily 

 be enlarged, or another erected, when your stocks increase. 

 Begin with two hives, and learn to manage these well first, 

 then allow them to increase by natural swarming each 

 .season. It is well to have two or three hives always in 

 readiness, that you may not have them to seek when 

 wanted for a new swarm, for it is not easy to remove them 

 after being hived for several days. 



THICKNESS OF THE HIVES. 



Some bee-farmers think a hive is a hive, and it matters 

 not if it be thin or thick, of wood or of straw ; we wish 

 we could disperse this notion. Very much, we assure our 

 readers, depends upon the protection given to the bees ; no 

 stock is more grateful for a little help. 



Straw hives have many disadvantages — -they are damp 

 and liable to rot, and harbour enemies of the bee. The 

 wooden-bar hive is the only one with which our system 

 •can be worked. The boards of the bar-hives should, if pos- 

 sible, be one-and-a-half-inch in thickness; the extra cost is 

 not much. If your hives are not so thick then give them 

 some other covering, especially during the prevalence of 

 easterly winds. We wrap hay-bands around most of our 

 ■stocks. The heat of the sun in summer is apt to melt the 

 combs ; in winter the cold often candies them and renders 

 them useless ; and in spring the thin hives neither retain 

 the heat necessary for hatching the eggs nor for preserving 

 the honey in a liquid state. Anyone may easily be con- 



