MARKETABLE PRODUCTS 63 
Colonies of bees may be sold at any time of the 
year between March and October, although they, 
are much more valuable in spring than in autumn. 
A fair price for a good stock in spring is 25/- to 
'30/-, but in the latter part of the year they are 
not worth more than £1, Both colonies and 
swarms are very saleable, in fact I never knew a 
season of late when the supply was equal to the 
demand. In selling stocks be sure that they are 
free from disease, and if they are sent off by rail 
great care must be exercised in packing them. 
Bees on combs travel badly. 
The packing of a frame hive will be found 
described in the chapter dealing with heather 
honey. If stocks are sold off, the supply, must be 
kept up by raising new qnes each season. This 
may be done by forming nuclei early in May, 
giving each of them a queen-cell, and building up 
these small lots into full colonies. 
The sale of queens is becoming a very impor- 
tant item in apiculture, but it is a branch in which 
a reputation has to be made, and this often takes 
several seasons of hard work. The most expensive 
part of queen-rearing is in the fertilization of the 
virgin queens, and where many are raised nearly. 
the whole of the stocks in the apiary have to 
be broken up into nuclei for this purpose. Queens 
fetch a good price in early spring and sometimes 
in late autumn, and the breeder must lay. his plans 
to meet this demand. 
Much care and attention is needed in queen- 
