HOW TO KEEP BEES. 23 



ensue. It is not wise to try to make one's own hives. Few persons 

 have the tools or the skill necessary to produce a satisfactory article, 

 and accuracy is essential. The vital principle of all movable comb 

 beehives is the "bee-space," i. e., a space through which bees can 

 pass and yet not so large as to induce them to build combs therein. 

 It is approximately one-quarter of an inch. A space through which 

 they cannot pass they fill with propolis. Factory made hives have 

 this detail carefully worked out. 



Insist on having all parts of the hive, covers, supers, floors, etc., 

 made of white pine. Some dealers substitute cypress, an inferior 

 wood for the purpose. The pine costs no more. If one dealer does 

 not have it another will. Catalogues of dealers in bee-keepers' sup- 

 plies furnish full information on the various appliances. 



The matter of hives and tools has seemingly perhaps been given 

 undue attention, but unless the outfit is good the bee-keeper will 

 find much annoyance and needless labor, and unless he is an excep- 

 tion, the troubles will make bee-keeping so laborious and disagreeable 

 that it is likely to be abandoned in disgust. It is true that honey 

 may be obtained even though the bees are kept in an old box or 

 hollow log, but profitable bee culture demands a suitable equipment. 



MAKING A START. 



It is best to buy a good colony of bees in a standard hive, buying 

 from some nearby bee-keeper if possible. Also get for the first 

 colony as gentle or easily-handled bees as the seller can furnish. 

 If one's means warrant it, buy two such colonies, using one for study 

 and experiment, and the other for honey, and as a reserve in case of 

 disaster to the first, for frequent overhauling of a colony of bees is not 

 conducive to its success or thrift. 



It has sometimes been advised to start by buying bees in a box 

 or any old hive and transfer them to a modern hive "for the ex- 

 perience." It is the sort of experience to dampen the ardor of the 

 most enthusiastic, and an experience which a wise and thrifty 

 veteran avoids as he would a pestilence. 



