PURCHASING STOCKS.
March and April are the best two months for purchasing stocks, and May for swarms. It is better to obtain them from such a distance only as they can be conveyed by hand; conveyance by any other means is always attended with danger to the Bees. Swarms require less care in carrying from place to place than stocks. In purchasing stocks the weight alone must not be relied on; a swarm of the preceding year should be selected, and one that contains not less than 12 lbs. of honey. The combs must be looked at, and if they are not of a yellow or straw colour, and if at all approaching to blackness, it is not a swarm of the last year, and must be rejected. The next best time to purchase is May or June, at the time of swarming; but of this hereafter.