24 lit! -licejHiK/ ill ]' ictiirld. 



taken indoors and secured against bees, and as soon as convenient the 

 conihs boiled down for wax. If tliere is any suspicion tliat a box-hive 

 colony is diseased, it is l:>est to drum it off at once, and destroy the box 

 and old combs by burning. The bees them.selves will be clean in their new 

 hive provided they do not get access to any honey or coinb from the old 

 J.iox after being driven off. 



4. Nuclei. 

 Bee-keeping may also be commenced with nuclei colonies. A nucleus 

 is a small colony of bees with a queen and two or three frames of comb 

 with brood, and some stores. When received it is transferred to a hive 

 .and frames with starters or full sheets of foundations added tO' fill the box. 

 Three-frame nuclei may be obtained of Italian bees at 15s. to 25s., accord- 

 ing to the kind of queen chosen with them, and black or hybrid bees at 

 los. to 20s., or either may be bought in full-sized hives with the additional 

 frames in position for 5s. each extra. Under favorable conditions, if 

 obtained early enough in the season, nuclei will rapidly build up into full 

 colonies and have the advantage that the beginner is not troubled with 

 hiving, and possibly losing swarms during the first season. 



The first cost of hives, frames, and comb-foundation appears high, and 

 many beginners think that money can be saved by making their own hives 

 and frames. It will be found, however, that when timber of the proper 

 quality is purchased in small quantities the cost per hive is ver\- little less 

 than that of one bought already prepared. In any case, it is advisable 

 to purchase at least one hive and frames so as to have a pattern to work 

 l)v. Californian red wood is decidedly the best timber for hivt s ; it is free 

 from knots, shrinks very little, does not warp, and is never eaten bv white 

 ants, which in .some localities are very destructive to hives. 



If the first cost has to be cut down to a minimum, temporary hives may 

 be made out of kerosene or petrol ca.ses. The frames which should be 

 of the self-spacing kind (Hoffman) had better be bought, as they require 

 to be made very accurately, so that later on they can be transferred to per- 

 manent hives. To construct a frame hive out of a kerosene case, one of 

 the broad sides is taken off, while the opposite one serves as a floor for 

 the hive. The original lid of the case is nailed on as a side, the former 

 brjttom^ of the case forming the other. At the bottom at one end an open- 

 ing 6 in. by i/i, in. is cut out as an entrance for the bees, and a strip of 

 wood Yz in. thick (such as the thin boards of the case), is nailed to the 

 inside of the ends of the case }A in. from the upper edge. This is to 

 suspend the frames from. A roof for this hive may be made out of the 

 broad side taken off the case. It should, however, be covered with some 

 waterproof material and shaded to prevent excessive heat melting the combs 

 in the hives. Hoffman, or other full-depth frames should always be 

 wired, as without wires new combs often break out in handling the frames 

 or fall down in hot weather. When two sets of half-depth or shallow 

 frames are used wiring may be dispensed with. 



If in making two shallow bodies out of a kerosene case, 34 in. is cut 

 off the ends of the case crossways before sawing it in two lengthways the 

 resulting half-depth bodies will exactly fit on an eight-frame hive, on 

 which it may be used as a super when a proper hive is adopted. A diffi- 

 culty usually experienced by beginners is that, not wishing to purchase a 

 honey extractor right away, they attempt to raise comb-honey ni i-lb. 

 .sections. It is well known amongst apiarists that the profitable produc- 

 tion of section honey requires considerable skill and a good honey locality. 



