122 
BEGINNING WITH BEES 
class bees that 
are under State 
inspection. A 
list of the rep¬ 
utable dealers 
furnishi n g 
good bees can 
be obtained bv 
consulting- lead¬ 
ing bee jour¬ 
nals. 
If you buy a swarm from 
some near-by beekeeper, 
don’t get a little one like 
this with only about a pint 
and a half of bees. 
Early in the 
season the aver¬ 
age b e g i n ner 
will do better to 
get a full col¬ 
ony or a nucleus of two or three frames of 
brood and bees than he will to buy a pack¬ 
age of combless bees, unless he secures them 
in the Root improved cage. By “nucleus” 
is meant a small 
colony of one or 
two combs of 
bees and brood, 
including a 
queen. The 
usual package 
of combless bees 
sent out by the 
dealers consists 
of a wire cage 
containing one, 
two, or three 
pounds of bees 
and a queen, 
without combs. 
With either 
form of ship¬ 
ment, one must 
have on hand 
hives ready to 
receive the bees. 
A package of 
five hives can 
be bought in the 
flat from the 
nearest dealer, 
and sometimes 
from the one 
who furnishes 
the bees. These 
should be put 
together and 
nailed, and the hives painted before the 
Buying a good-sized 
swarm from a near-by 
beekeeper is the best 
way to make a start. 
One is enough to begin 
with. 
bees arrive. The hive or hives should 
then be placed in some permanent spot in 
the garden or in the back yard, but not 
near a neighbor’s line fence. (See Apiary 
and Backlot Beekeeping for particulars 
on how and where to place the hives.) 
If nuclei are purchased they can be placed 
in hives without difficulty. A little smoke 
(see Smokers) should be blown over the 
tops of the frames before the wire screen 
is removed. If by an oversight a smoker 
was not included with the hives, ignite a 
roll of paper, or, better, some old rags, 
and then blow the smoke over the top of 
the wire screen. (See A B C of Beekeep¬ 
ing, subhead manipulating a colony of 
bees; also Manipulation op Colonies op 
Bees further on.) After smoke has been 
applied, the frames may then be lifted out 
and set in the center of one of the hives. 
The entrance of the hive should be con¬ 
tracted to the smallest point possible. 
Bees without combs can be bought for 
less money, and the three-pound package 
of bees will make a force which, if bought 
in the spring, would have a reasonable 
chance to produce a crop of honey the 
first season, while the three-frame nucleus 
would hardly be able to build up to more 
than a colony, and perhaps get a very 
little surplus. A five-frame nucleus would 
be about equivalent to three pounds of 
bees. 
Bees Avithout combs will not carry brood 
diseases. No matter who the dealer is, one 
could be reasonably sure of getting stock 
which, when hived on frames of founda¬ 
tion or clean combs, Avould carry no dis¬ 
ease. In some States there are laAvs 
against the transmission of colonies or 
nuclei containing combs unless they carry 
a certificate that they have been inspected 
in the State whence they came. But pack- 
