followed is adapted
to the profitable keeping of bees."

There is always a farmer here and there who keeps a few hives of
bees. These often can be purchased at a very reasonable price, but
unless they are Italian bees and are in improved hives, it would be
better to purchase from some dealer. He may sell you a very weak
colony, but after the first year these ought to be as strong as any.
Start in the spring; when you have your bees, read good literature
on the subject. A. I. Root's "A B C of Bee Culture" is good for
beginners; subscribe for the _American Bee Journal,_ of Chicago, or
_Gleanings in Bee Culture,_ Medina, Ohio. They are full of the
latest ideas on the subject.

A yield of fifty pounds of honey in a season can be obtained from
one hive of bees in almost any locality. In fact, this is often done
where bees are kept in built up cities. One hundred pounds would be
considered a very small yield by many apiarists, and twice this
amount is often gathered in favored localities where up-to-date
methods are followed.

One man can take care of two hundred hives or colonies, as they are
termed, if he is working for comb honey, and perhaps twice that
number if for extracted honey.

Comb honey is stored usually in one-pound boxes set in a super or
small box over the main hive body, which is itself a box about
seventeen inches long, eleven inches wide, and ten inches deep into
which frames of comb are slid side by side. These combs are
accessible and can be lifted out, exposing to view the inner
workings of the hive. It is in these combs that the queen lays as
many as three thousand eggs some days, and in which the young bees
are hatched. They are also used for storing honey for winter use.

The extractor has been invented to remove this honey without
damaging the comb. The economy of this can readily be seen, as ten
pounds of honey can be stored while one pound of comb is being
built.

This leaves the bees free to gather honey instead of using a portion
of their force to build comb, as is necessary when comb honey is
desired.

The extractor is a round tin can on a central pivot with a revolving
mechanism. Into this the full combs of honey are placed and are
whirled around, throwing the honey out into the can by centrifugal
force. It is then run out at the bottom into bottles or barrels, and
the empty combs are replaced in the hive for the bees to fill again.

Twice as many pounds of honey can be produced by