GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
Sept. 
100 
OUR PRIMARY DEPARTMENT, 
O.- First Principles in Bep-Keepin^. 
[Designed especially for the veriest novices, and 
those who know nothing of bees whatever. Conduct- 
ed by a fellow Xovice of several years experience 
replete with blunders, as well as with occasional 
su ccesses.] 
A GREAT many commence bee-keeping but 
JLA too often end in a miserable failure in a 
year or two, and some times in a few mouths or 
perhaps weeks even. Now as we can’t tell how 
many of our readers may do this, and we par- 
ticularly desire that you should not fail, we 
shall endeavor to make our list of implements 
for a beginner as brief and simple as possible. 
We have for this the twofold reason that we 
wish to avoid all confusion, and also that as 
few “traps'’ as possible may be needed and 
consequently be lost should you abandon the 
enterprise. 
We rather prefer that you should commence 
with one hive, but if you can’t be satisfied with 
so small a beginning, just double or treble 
the tollowing amount. 
Stock in trade absolutely necessary for a 
starr in bee-keeping 
One swarm of bees 5 to $10.00 estimated $7.50 
Simplicity hive 1.00 
10 frames(g,0c GO 
Quilt 25 
Transferring clasps, one package 25 
GLEANINGS IN BEK CULTURE 75 
$10.35 
We would say it needs just about a $10.00 
bill to make a modest trial in the business. 
“But. " says some one of our readers, “you 
are continually calculating on our being able 
to judge for ourselves what we need, when the 
fact is we know nothing at all about it. 
“The hive at $1.00 lias no bottom, and how 
do we know what is best to set il on; also, 
you have said nothing about paint, yet we 
think you have somewhere taught that they 
should never be exposed to the weather with- 
out painting. Still again, you say the Italians 
arc much more docile than the blacks, if so 
why not give us the Italians at once, and then 
our increase, without any more or an much la- 
bor in fact, if we are to credit you ‘bee folks,’ I 
will be Italians and all the more valuable. 
We certainly don’t want to waste our time on 
inferior stock just to save a little additional 
expense in the beginning. Come now; tell us 
just what you would do, should some friend 
tell you to start him an Apiary, and if you 
thought one hive sufficient, all right, but it is 
l.o be all complete ; the amount, to he ent rust- 
ed entirely to your own skill and judgment. 
“Now remember your besetting sin, of econ- 
omizing too closely in lice matters, but take all 
the money you want. If we mistake not you 
have decided not to give a beginner the Stand- 
ard hive ?” 
"We certainly would not. Their first lesson 
should be increase of stocks rather, and after 
some experience in that business they can de- 
cide for themselves whether they prefer to lift 
their ten frames into a long hive with capaci- 
ty for twenty, or simply set on another story.” 
“Well, here is your heading on this paper now 
put down the Items and figures.” 
OUTFIT FOR A BEGINNER. 
Simplicity hive $1.00 
One extra cover to serve as a bottom-board 50 
Three good coats of Averill Chemical paint 50 
Quilt 25 
Ten combs, mostly worker, @75c eacli 7.50 
Italian Queen from Imported mother 3.00 
Four quarts of bees @$1.00 4.00 
Gleanings in bf.e culture Vol 1 and 2, 1.50 
$18.35 
“And is the above all ?” 
“All for the present.” 
“Of all the various articles mentioned on 
your price list would you add none?” 
“None else until the article is really felt to 
be necessary by the owner.” 
“And the above is sufficient to build up a 
large Apiary without any additional purchase 
of bees ?” 
“We think so. If all Queens aye reared from 
the one mentioned there can be nothing poorer 
than half bloods, this will serve to give a new 
strain of blood and they are very good to han- 
dle usually, and are nearly equal to pure Ital- 
ians as honey gatherers. When this Queen 
fails another tested one should be used. In 
an Apiary of 25 stocks or upwards an Import- 
ed Queen will, we think, be a profitable invest- 
ment.” 
Those who have, or find it more convenient 
to use tlie box hive and common bees, we 
would refer to the articles on transferring in 
former number, see pages 33 and 64, Vol. 1st, 
and page 40, current volume. 
It will require considerable care and skill 
to transfer a colony in mid-summer or fall, as 
well as to transplant t lie grape vine out of sea- 
son, yet it can be done if you particularly dc 
sire it. 
If you fail, it will probably be because you 
are careless and not neat and tidy about your 
work. The bees will assuredly pass readily 
into anything in the shape of a hive if it occu- 
l pies tlie precise position of the old one and 
I contains some of their brood combs. Two 
j principle difficulties beset beginners; First, 
! daubing honey around so that robbers get “a 
going,” secondly, losing the Queens. Some 
deft housewife can instruct you better how to 
avoid the former than we can, and in fact 
handling honey in almost any shape seems to 
be decidedly feminine work, but you should 
before hand give her a clean nice place, free 
from rubbish etc., in which to do the work. 
Bees are decidedly the neatest and most, order- 
ly class of all animated creation — bless our 
stars we meant to except every time and at- 
iciii/h , these same feminines — and if you ' wish 
them to thrive you must make their habita- 
tions (vve mean the bees) agreeable to this trait. 
The Queen cannot get lost unless you leave 
some crevice or hole for her to crawl into, 
therefore we repeat our injunction, to bank all 
around the new hive with clean new saw-dust, 
pounded down bard, so that a bee may travel 
over it easily. Now if you make it a point not 
to kill a bee during the whole operation, you 
certainly will not kill the Queen. 
Very likely they may in their fright, crawl 
and cluster in several places about the new 
hive, instead of going in at the entrance, but 
this should occasion no uneasiness for if the 
