If there are no bees for sale near by, the best plan is to order from a dealer in the spring what is known as a nucleus. This is a very small colony, about a quart of bees (three thousand two hundred), should be accompanied by a tested queen, and housed in a modern hive with three frames of comb. The queen sets to work laying eggs in the cells, new frames should be added as needed, and if pollen and nectar are plentiful the hive will soon be full of busy young workers. By fall the frames should be stored with the honey needed for the winter. Your first expense after securing a colony will not be for "mixed grain" or "middlings," but for a smoker, a bee veil and gloves, extra hives for your swarms, honey sections, and other supplies. Don't buy everything that looks useful or is highly recommended by the salesman. Maybe he never saw a bee. Sometimes an old spoon or other cheap utensil can be made into a more useful tool than the one he wants fifty cents for. The following list includes the supplies you are pretty sure to need the first year: One colony of bees, in an up-to-date though simply constructed hive. On the whole, the ten-frame hive seems to me to have advantages over a smaller one. A deep telescope cover gives room for two supers on top at once. The only advantage in the chaff hives seems to be that winter protection is not needed for bees housed in them. The obvious disadvantage is their greater cost, size, and weight. Single walled hives are so easily made weatherproof, (see Wintering) that the expense of the chaff hive is not necessary. Three extra hives. Two supers; four super covers. Two to five hundred section boxes for comb honey. You will not need very many of these the first year, but they come cheaper in larger lots. One smoker. Of the several kinds offered, you may safely choose the one that you have seen used successfully. One pair bee gloves; one bee veil. One pound brood foundation, for the new swarms to begin on. Two pounds thin super-foundation for starters in the honey sections. One foundation fastener. One experienced bee-keeper tells me that he likes the "Dewey" best. Others prefer the "Daisy." One Porter bee escape. One bee brush. One queen and drone trap. The new Alley trap is made with bars instead of perforated zinc, and works better. A bee-keeper's guide. (See list of books in the appendix.) Complete directions for putting together the hives, etc., should accompany the filled order, and the novice should work with one eye on the printed page. A good book on bee-keeping should be included in the beginner's order. Those recommended in the book list in the appendix are all good books for beginners. BEES AS WAGE EARNERS