150 
Lift the hive, and judge of the amount of honey it 
contains by its weight. At this season a stock will, of 
course, contain a less number of bees than at a later 
period, yet, a goodly number should be present. 
If purchased in the fall, the value of a stock is in 
proportion to the number of bees, and the quantity of 
honey it contains, the appearance of the comb being 
also taken into consideration. If the purchased stock 
is not to be Italianized, the age of the queen should be 
ascertained ; if the stock swarmed that year, it will 
usually have a young and vigorous queen. Second 
swarms of the previous year’s issue, if they have filled 
their hive and are strong in numbers, are valuable 
stocks to purchase ; such stocks contain young and 
vigorous queens, and usually have nice combs and very 
little old and soured bee-bread. It frequently occurs 
that, after transferring good stocks to the movable-comb 
hive, honey is left out for table use, equal in value to 
the purchase price of the entire stock. 
Managing Bees on Shares. — Persons having the 
necessary knowledge of the management of bees fre- 
quently take and manage the bees of their neighbors, 
the person taking them furnishing the hives, and usually 
getting one-half of the increase and honey, or more if 
transferred to movable-comb hives. 
Taking up Stocks for Neighbors. — The method of 
taking up light stocks — which would probably die 
