366 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING 
day-time during a dearth of pasturage/' This is all 
true, but bee-keeping is essentially an outdoor occu- 
pation, and few would willingly exchange the fresh 
air and sunlight of the open for the stuffy heat of a 
bee-house. The loss of freedom in choosing where 
every stock shall stand, and the inelastic character of 
the house apiary, make it undesirable, except as an 
adjunct to the separate stand system. 
In starting an apiary, is it very desirable that those 
with no experience go slowly. The acquisition of 
three or four stocks will furnish abundant ground for 
gaining solid practical knowledge, which will at first 
grow more rapidly in the management of a few than in 
the confusion of many colonies, for the memories of 
most men are not sufficient to retain and systematise 
the numerous points bees bring before their attention 
until these by practice have become familiar. 
Either purchasing swarms or stocks, or taking con- 
demned bees, will enable us to make a beginning. 
The swarms should be acquired early, and ought not 
to weigh less than 31b. The lowest prices will be 
quoted by cottagers owning skeps, but we must wait 
in uncertainty until their swarms come off naturally; 
and, as the skeps are small, the swarms will be light. 
The packing may be unskilful, and our bee-keeping 
may begin in annoyance. It is best for the novice to 
apply to a reliable dealer, and purchase his bees by 
weight. Paying too heavily for an especial race is 
not desirable, as a queen or queens may be subse- 
quently purchased, and made to head strong stocks, 
in a few weeks, by the nucleus system. In buying 
stocks of cottagers or inexperienced persons, it is 
