10 ARKANSAS EXPERIMENT STATION 



they are moved less than two miles the '^^f^, J°",^,^„^Je?'ob- 

 aware of the change by the placing of some ^™^^ °^ ''^i^^^^^^ 

 .truction in front of the entrances. The change ^^ ^ppearance 

 of the surroundings will prevent the bees from leaving the tines 

 before observing carefully the new location. 



EQUIPMENT 



Hives. The use of modern equipment cannot be urged too 

 strongly. With the use of good equipment and a little care, a 

 maximum yield of honey can. be secured, while without sucn 

 equipment it is practically impossible to get anything like a gooa 

 crop of honey. Among the various articles constituting tne 

 equipment, the hive is by far the most ifnportant. _ 



Beekeepers of many years' experience and other authori- 

 ties agree that the eight-frame hive is too small. It seriously 

 limits the size of the colony and causes much unnecessary swarm- 

 ing. 



The hive generally recommended at this time is the standard 

 10-frame hive. Many beekeepers feel that even this size is too 

 small for a brood chamber; so they use two hive bodies for the 

 brood chamber. Still others are using larger hives, such as the 

 Dadant or the Jumbo. It is possible that these larger hives 

 will take the place of fhe 10-frame standard hives that are now 

 rather generally used. 



The movable, self-spacing frames are absolutely essential. 

 In regions where the bees gather considerable propolis, the 

 metal-spaced frames are very desirable. Only by the use of mov- 

 able frames can the colonies be properly observed and cared for. 

 Without them beekeeping cannot be made profitable. The use 

 of full sheets of foundation in the brood frames as well as the 

 extracting frames must be Insisted on. These full sheets of 

 foundation insure straight combs and they prevent the bees from 

 building a large number of drone cells. Even if foundation 

 costs about 85 cents a pound, it is cheaper to buy it than to let 

 the bees build it. It costs the bees about 10 pounds of honey to 

 build one pound of comb. At this rate foundation will cost at 

 least two dollars a pound, not to mention the crooked combs and 

 excessive drone population. The use of one inch starters is a 

 waste of time and expense. 



Many beginners in beekeeping hesitate in buying standard 

 equipment on account of high prices. It is true that the hives 

 and other equipment required for even five or six colonies of bees 

 represent a considerable investment for a person of small means 

 However, if it is borne in mind that this equipment when properly 

 cared for lasts for a long time one can easily understand that 

 the investment is a good one. A hive properly painted and 

 placed on bricks or other support will last almost a life time 



