OUT-A PI ARIES. 



321 



OUT-APIARIES. 



Tlieii tliere are llii^ ('i'!i\in :ui<l tlic Giiiihiucli yartls, 

 each 90 colonios in spring', only li4 miles apart— loo 

 close, wi til very littk! l)assw()()(l norlli of tlieni. IJotli 

 of tliese yards were fed moi'c honey tliaii we took 

 from them. There wei'e a few acres ol' biickwiieat 

 near them that helped them a little. 'J'lie Jones yard 

 did fairly well, considering- its surroundings. It had 

 the least number of l)ees, an al)undance of bas.s- 

 wood near, and tlien had eleven acres of l)uckwheat 

 just over the fence. 



We will now notice tiie home yard. Tiiere were 

 105 colonies. The Jones yard is rather too close. 

 Then there is an apiary of 30 colonies a little over 

 half a mile east, at a point marked Beihls; another 

 apiary 1>^ miles east, 30 colonies, marked Nails; an- 

 other apiary southeast, marked W, about 40 colonies. 

 Another apiary still further to the east, and a little to 

 the north, marked W, about 40 colonies. So you see 

 the home-yard territory is overstocked the worst of 

 all, and had to be fed 360 lbs. more than was taken 

 fcom them. The home yard has the best clover field 

 of any, but basswood is scarce within two miles. In 

 looking at the diagram, one not acquainted with the 

 ground would naturally ask, " Why d(m't you use 

 that open space southeast of the home yard 'i " It is 

 all prairie land. Corn and oats don't yield much 

 honey. 



We will now just look back to the record of a year 

 of plenty, 1886, and see how the yards averaged up 

 then. 



COLONIES, SPRING OF 1886. 



Atkinson yard, 73 cols. ; average lbs. per col., 1(J6 



Cravin " 80 " ' " IO6I4 



Kliebensteiu" 60 " ' " 109 



Waters " 72 •' 107 



Gunlauch " .50 " " " " " ]00)< 



Home " 61 " " " " " 117 



Jones yard not planted then. 

 FOR 1885. 



Atkinson yard, .56 cols. ; average lbs. per col., 90 



Cravin " .53 " " " " " 74 



Kliebenstein " 46 " " " " " 63 



Waters " 57 " " " " " .57 



Gunlauch " 46 " ' " " " 77>^ 



Home " 63 " " " •' " 7I>^ 



FOR 1884. 



Atkinson yai"d, 51 cols. ; average lbs. per col., 107 



Cravin '• 41 " " " " " 113 



Kliebenstein" 51 " " " " " 109 



Waters " 41 " " " " " 130 



Gunlauch " 41 " 106>^ 



Home " 61 " 113X 



FOR 1883. 



Four yards, average for the whole 105 lbs. 



Number of colonies, 35, 48, 33, 60. 



In 1887 we kept no record. It was a very poor sea- 

 son, and we got but little honey. 



The year 1888 was a very poor year also. 



Cols, in spring. Average per col. 

 Atkinson yard, 76 23 



Now, friends, you have tlie figui-es and tlie map of 

 the ground that our bees are on. Study it for y(jur- 



selves. Hill if yon plant ()ut-;ii)i;iiics, don't put 

 them less than five miles apart if you can lielp it. If 

 you are going to keep help at the separate yards, to 

 run the bees, six miles apart is near (enough; then, if 

 the pasture is good, you can keep fi'oni 100 to 1.50 I'ol- 

 onies in eacli place. If you go from liome with your 

 iielp every day, then you want to gauge the number 

 of colonies so as to work one whole yard in one day; 

 or if you have but tiu'ee or four apiaries in all, you 

 will have time to work two days in each. But don't 

 go over the roads tor less than a full day's work 

 when you get there; and remember, when you are 

 locating an apiary, that, when you are hitched up 

 and on the road, one or two miles further travel will 

 pay you better than to crowd your i^asture. Don't 

 overstock your ground. B. France. 



Platteville, Wis. 



Soon after the appearance of Mr. Frances 

 diagram, there appeared in Gleanings anoth- 

 er valuable article from the pen of ('. P. 

 Dadant, of the firm of C. Dadant & Son. 

 It substantiates what Mr. France has said, 

 and shows the relation that apiaries bear 

 to each other along the banks of the Mis- 

 sissippi. 



The very interesting article'of Mr. France, on out- 

 apiaries, has induced us to give you our experience 

 in this matter, not because we can throw siiiy more 

 light on the question, but because our practice, 

 which extends back to 1871, in the matter of out- 

 apiaries confirms the views of both Mr. France and 

 Dr. Miller, and will add weight to their statements. 



Under ordinary circumstances it is not advi.sable 

 to place apiaries nearer than four miles apart; but 

 Dr. Miller is undoubtedly right when he says that 

 the configuration of the land has a great deal to do 

 ■\vith the greater or lesser distance that bees travel 

 in certain directions. 



In the accompanying diagram you will perceive 

 that the.se apiaries are all located on land sloping 

 toward the Mississippi River, and are separated from 

 one another by creeks, and groves of timber land. 

 The Grubb apiary is owned by D. W. McDaniel, who 

 has had charge of our apiaries also for a few years 

 past. Of all the.se apiaries, the Sherwood is the best 

 in the productof both spring and fall crops, although 

 there are seasons like the past when the fall crop 

 fails there altogether. 



The Villemain apiary has tlie poorest locaticni, to 

 all appearances; but it is Ipcated near the only bass- 

 wood grove there is in the country, and has also 

 quite a fall pasture from blo.ssoms that grow on tlie 

 islands near it. But what will you think of the Sack 

 apiary, which is located a little over two miles south 

 of the Lamet apiary, with another apiary close to 

 the latter, but not shown on the diagram, and only 

 one mile and a quarter north of another apiary of 60 

 colonies, owned by A. Douglierty? Yet this Sack 

 apiary gives us the best average of honey of all, ex- 

 cepting the Sherwood apiary. The reason of it is, 

 tliat the pasturage is all west of it on the river bot- 

 toms, and very abundant. It is probable that the 

 bees in this apiary go as far west as the river, about 

 three miles, while they perhaps do not travel over a 

 mile east on the bluff's. Their course north and 

 south, in the direction of tliose other apiai-ies, is over 

 a hilly countryv covered moie or less with timber 

 which makes their flight more difficult. 



