Excerpt from New York State Colleges of Agriculture and Home Economics at Cornell UniversityIn comparison with the skep method of bee-keeping followed by our forefathers, the perfection and simplicity attained in the construction of the present-day movable comb hives and appliances mark a revolution in apiculture. When skeps are used, the bee-keeper is compelled to carry out the inhuman practice of killing the bees to obtain their honey, and this, when secured, is full of foreign substances, such as liquid matter from the crushed bodies of the grubs, pollen, propo-lis, and other substances, which are incorporated with it during the necessary process of squeezing the honey from the combs. The modern system, however, enables any person with ordinary intelligence to follow this lucrative occu petion successfully without injury to the bees, combs or brood. Further, natural swarming can be controlled, and if it is desired to increase the number of colonies, this can be done to a larger extent by artificial methods* than if the bees are allowed to swarm naturally, when there is a great danger of the swarm being lost by its issue and escape during the absence of the owner.First Steps. - One of the first steps to be taken by those desirous of becoming bee-keepers is to obtain a good book on apiculture, and to study it carefully. There are several books from which a choice may be made. It would also be advie able to join the local bee-keepers' association, as in this way much advice and information can be obtained, moreover, secretaries of such associations will be able to furnish names of expert bee-keepers willing to help if needed. The associa tion will also be able to render assistance in many other ways.The prospective bee-keeper will be well advised to make haste slowly: Beginning with not more than a couple of stocks, he should increase the number as he acquires experience and becomes more capable of dealing with a larger apiary.See Lea¿et No. 334 (how to Increase Colonies of Bees) included in this volume.Appliances - The appliances should be as simple as pos sible, and only those absolutely necessary should be purchased. These consist of a complete hive, containing supers (section racks, or shallow comb boxes), a queen excluder, quilts, ten frames with a division board in the brood chamber, comb foundation for the brood frames and also for the supers, a veil, and a smoker or carbolic cloth for subduing the bees. If the shallow combs are to be used for procuring surplus honey, a centrifugal honey extractor will also be needed, but this will not be required if comb honey is worked for exclusively. A scraper for cleaning ¿oor boards, frame tops, &c., , an uncap ping knife for use when extracting (a carving knife will serve this purpose), and a. Bee escape fitted into a board for clearing the bees out of the supers, will also be required.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.