>> have an uncle-in-law about 600 miles away that has about 30
hives.......but I cannot exhaust him with questions on the phone!<<

Read, read, join a bee club, take a shortcourse. Find a local beekeeper and 
apprentice under him for a year i.e. offer sweat for knowledge. Then you can 
ask fewer questions that are more on target.

Dan Veilleux
in the mountains of NC
zone 6a

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