STOCKING AN APIARY 23 
supply may be waived and the bees féd with 
sugar syrup. = 
Skeps of bees should certainly not be bought 
by, beginners on their own responsibility, and in 
fact it would be best if they, ignored them alto- 
gether. Disease cannot be detected at all in a 
skep, as the combs are fixed and cannot be ex- 
amined without cutting them out. An expert, if 
he wanted bees, would take the risk, cut out the 
combs and examine them, afterwards transferring 
them to a frame hive if healthy; if otherwise, 
destroying the combs and treating the bees as 
an artificial swarm or driven lot. This work, 
however, is quite beyond the beginner. If he 
buy, skeps at all he must be prepared to take 
the risk, and this is not advised. If by any 
means he comes into possession of any, the safest 
way. of dealing with them is to place them on a 
stand and allow them to swarm, hiving the swarms 
into frame hives. As skeps are only acquired 
nowadays as adjuncts to. frame hives, this method 
is to be preferred even in the case of healthy, 
skeps to the usual method of dealing with them, 
which consists in transferring the bees and combs 
as mentioned before. The state of the combs 
matters little in this description of hive. They, 
should not be too black, but that is the only. thing 
that need be insisted on. The usual price for 
skeps is from 12/- to 15/- each, but the latter is 
a top price. 
Swarms are usually, recommended for beginners, 
