190 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
inside for about an inch from the bottom 
should be painted. The edges and about two 
inches of the floor and crown-boards should 
also be painted, so that the rain may not 
be drawn under. This would happen, and the 
edge of the steps would soon rot if it and 
that part of the crown-board and floor-board 
where it rests were not painted. Having got 
the hives well painted and thoroughly dry, a 
swarm headed with a young queen should be 
obtained. It should weigh about four pounds. 
Although the hive is ready we have not 
considered the site. An open space facing the 
south should be chosen when practicable, and 
with the path running behind the hives. 
Now clear away (and keep away) all weeds 
and make the ground firm. Four or eight 
bricks will make a sufficiently good stand, but 
the one I should prefer, where sleepers can be 
got, would be two laid side by side with the 
soil made slanting up to the top edge of the 
front sleeper, so that heavily-laden bees fall- 
ing in front of the hive would easily get into 
it. The stand should be set as level as 
possible and then the floor-board should be 
placed on the spot the stock will occupy. 
This must be made perfectly level both ways 
by means of a spirit level, which may be 
obtained for a few pence, and should always 
find a place in every apiary. This done, raise 
the back of the floor-board half an inch, 
because the combs should be built across the 
ong holes in the crown-board, thus allowing 
hebees access to the supers from between all 
but the outer combs. 
Having stopped the holes in the crown- 
board with a piece of cloth the swarm may be 
put in (hived in if got from a neighbor) and 
the hive then placed mouth downwards in 
front of the stand, not on it. Put a stone 
under the edge of the step, and so let it 
remain until the bees have clustered in it. 
Then lift the hive carefully so as not to dis- 
turb the cluster and place it with the holes in 
the crown-board pointing east and west. As 
tne entrance which points to the south is 
half an inch lower than the back the combs 
will be built from front to back across the 
holes. The swarm need not now be touched 
again for a week or ten days, unless the 
weather should be unfavorable for ^ honey- 
gathering, in which case it should be fed with 
dry sugar. 
if the weather bo fine for a week or ten days 
a good swarm will have built combs nearly 
half way down to the floor-board, and unless 
super room is given every comb will be 
clogged with honey almost as fast as the comb 
is built, with the result that the hive, if left 
alone till the end of the season, would contain 
a lot of honey and a small quantity of bees. 
To super, place ou the stock-hive, after care- 
fully removing the cloth in the holes, so that 
the tender combs are not broken, a six-inch 
super with the holes iu the crown-board 
pointing east and west. The super must lie 
made secure so that there is no escape of heat. 
These operations are best done in the evening, 
the bees being kept down by a puff of smoke, 
or by smearing the edges of the holes with a 
feather which has been dipped in carbolic 
acid. If the swarm be a good one, the season 
early, and the district a good one for bee- 
pasturage, the bees will quickly take to the 
super, and when it is about three-parts filled 
it should be raised and another placed between 
it and the stock-hive. Both these supers will 
most probably be filled with delicious honey, 
while the combs below will be one mass of 
brood. If the beekeeper prefer to have no 
bother with feeding he might be content with 
one super, when the stock-liive would as 
regards bees and honey by the end of the 
season be in a condition to winter successfully. 
When, however, it is found that after taking 
off the supers there is not sufficient food in 
the stoek-hive to last the winter, syrup should 
be given as described in this Journal and the 
various bee books. 
The swarm will lie termed a stock the fol- 
lowing spring, and the treatment it will 
require will be similar to that recommended 
. for tile swarm. But as our object in the 
spring will be to prevent swarming, the super 
should be placed on the stock-hive early, that 
is, when the hive is well filled with bees and 
when honey-gathering in quantity has com- 
menced. But it must lie borne in mind that 
the super must not be allowed to get more 
than three-parts full before it is raised and 
another is placed between it and the stock- 
hive. The upper super will be first completed 
and may then be removed, and the remaining 
one treated as was the super, first placed on 
the stock-hive. Thus treated the stock will 
most probably give a large surplus in the 
supers, and swarming will be prevented. If 
there should be a fear when the supers are 
on that a swarm will issue raise the stock- 
hive and supers bodily and place under all on 
the floor-board an empty super. This will be 
used as a brood-chamber, and at the end of 
the season the combs should be cut out and 
melted in order that the super may he ready 
for use the following season. 
(To be continued.) 
advertisements. 
Ikchccepcrs’ $upplij Ola., 
18 FEANKLin SI., 
L. T. CHAMBERS, Manager. 
♦ 
“ Langstroth,” “Heddon,” “ Alley,” or any 
other style of Hive in stock or made to order. 
Foundation Honey Extractors, Solar Ex- 
tractors, Section Boxes, and all the requisites 
of the Apiary. 
Bees. Queens, Brood, Eggs, supplied iu any 
quantities. 
