set at regular intervals to insure adequate
pollination, usually one hive per acre.

A practical method of adding to county life enjoyment and adding to income
as well is the keeping of bees for honey production.

_Securing a Honey Crop._--Bee husbandry can be carried on successfully as
a specialized side line where only small areas of land are available.
Colonies can be located at one side of the garden or placed under trees
where they will not be disturbed either through accident or by cultivation
of the plot immediately surrounding them. The activity of the bees during
the nectar-gathering season, accompanied by the well-known hum as they
dart in and out of the hive, makes a genuine appeal to the country
dweller. This appeal is heightened by the fact that they are working for
him, in part at least, and without his having to pay for their raiding the
nectar from the flowers around. He knows that his efforts in providing
favorable working conditions for the bees will be repaid by a harvest of
salable honey. A colony at full strength just at the right time will
invariably gather a surplus.

_First Principles in Beekeeping._--The beginner in bee husbandry should
purchase established colonies from a reputable business concern or from
beekeepers in the neighborhood of his home. He should begin in a small way
with a few colonies, learn the business with a small investment and then
increase as his liking for the work develops and the market for the
product expands. Being able to read the signs at the entrance to the hive
is the surest way to success. Too much manipulation is just as harmful as
neglect. The novice in beekeeping who is really interested and follows
carefully a few details gained from a reliable bee book should harvest at
least 30 pounds of honey a year from each colony. Experts get much larger
yields and have been known to secure 200 pounds per colony and 200
sections of comb honey from one hive. The deciding factor in producing
honey is the skill of the watchful beekeeper, assuming of course that
there is a sufficient supply of nectar-secreting blossoms in the area.

The cost of engaging in bee husbandry is nominal. An established colony of
the preferred Italian bees should cost about $8. The equipment should
include two fitted supers for each colony in which the bees may store the
honey, costing about $3 each; a veil to protect the head and face,
linseed-oil-soaked canvas gloves, a bee smoker, a hive tool