OUT-APIARIES. 



323 



OVERSTOCKING. 



few locations in York State that formerly 

 gave very little honey until the farmers, 

 in recent years, introduced buckwheat 

 to such an extent that these are now splen- 

 did bvickwheat countries ; and the yield of 

 this dark rich honey plays a considerable 

 part in the net profits of the season. In a 

 word, we want our apiaries so we can load 

 them up at a moment's notice, and move 

 them at practically little expense to any 

 new field that may be more inviting. We 

 can not always tell at first whether it will 

 be a favorable location. If it does not come 

 up to our expectations, we can " pull up 

 stakes " and again try elsewhere. How are 

 we to make oiir apiaries movable V Keep 

 them on fixed frames, to be sure. Neither 

 Mr. El wood. Captain Iletherington, nor Mr. 

 Hoifman fusses with fastening frames. 

 When it becomes desirable to move a yard, 

 all that is necessary is to close the entrance 

 and load up the bees. See Frames, Self- 

 spacing. 



a scale hive at an out- yard. 



It is a well-known and established fact, 

 that one yard may yield quite a crop of hon- 

 ey while another, only a few miles dis- 

 tant, requires to be fed. It is highly 

 important to be able to tell j ust what the bees 

 are doing at stated periods during the sea- 

 son. Mr. Manum kept a hive on scales at 

 each yard; and every time he visited one he 

 consulted the scales. If they indicated an 

 increase of several pounds, he knew the 

 bees in this apiary needed more room, and 

 were also liable to swarm; but if they indi- 

 cated a loss of several pounds, he inferred 

 that the whole yard was losing likewise, and 

 that some colonies needed to be fed. Of 

 course, the hive on the scale should contain 

 a fair average colony. In many cases it is 

 not always possible to visit yards at regular 

 periods, and so Mr. Manum had some resi- 

 dent near the apiary to watch the scale, and 

 report by postal card any unexpected de- 

 velopments. 



A CAUTION ABOUT ENTERING INTO THE 

 OUT-APIAKY BUSINESS. 



We have already gone over the ground of 

 the general subject of out-apiaries, and 

 what contributes toward making their man- 

 agement a success. While there are many 

 bee-keepers who have brains and capacity 

 enough to manage a series of out-apiaries, 

 there are also more who had better never 

 think of entering into the jiroject. To be a 

 keeper of several out-apiaries means great 



perseverance and a good deal of system, be- 

 sides ability to manage not only the bees, 

 but the help who are to take care of them. 

 If you can not make fifty or sixty colonies 

 pay in one location, do not delude yourself 

 by the idea that you can make bees pay 

 by establishing a series of out-apiaries. The 

 man who can not make a small business pay 

 probably will not make a large one do so. 

 When you can manage successfully your 

 home apiary, it may be profitable, as soon as 

 the increase is sufficient, to take a part of it 

 to an outyard. 



OVERSTOCKING. By this term we 

 mean having more colonies in a given place 

 than the locality can support. Our treat- 

 ment of the question under Out- Apiaries 

 (which see) hints at benefits of restriction to 

 75 strong stocks in any one apiary. While, 

 doubtless, better to retain at home unavoid- 

 able increase to the limit, peihaps, of 20 or 

 30 swarms, still, when 50 more than the 

 requisite number is reached, a new yard 

 should be started two miles away, or, better, 

 even four. 



A given locality with only ten colonies to 

 gather the nectar in it may show a wonder- 

 ful average per colony— perhaps 200 or 300 

 pounds. When the number is tripled or 

 quadrupled, the average will be cut down a 

 half. The locality should be carefully stud- 

 ied, and only that number of colonies be 

 used which on an average, one year with 

 another, will give the largest results in 

 honey, with a minimum of labor and capital. 

 If 75 hives during an average season would 

 furnish an average of 160 pounds to the 

 hive, then, obviously, the number might be 

 increased to 100 or even 150. When, on the 

 other hand, the average is, say, only 50 lbs. 

 of extracted honey, and there are only 50 

 colonies in the apiary, then, clearly, 60 

 would be all there could be kept with profit 

 in that spot ; and it could be questioned 

 whether or not 35 might not be just as prof- 

 itable, and at the same time save a little in 

 the investment and some labor in gathering 

 and harvesting the crop. 



But in some locations, notably Califor- 

 nia, Colorado, Cuba, and in some portions 

 of Florida, one can have as many as 300 or 

 400 colonies, and in some rare instances 500 

 colonies in one apiary. The late E. W. 

 Alexander, of Delanson, N. Y,,had some 

 700 colonies in one bee-yard; but he had im- 

 mense acreages of buckwheat and goldenrod. 

 The celebrated Sespe apiary, in Southern 

 California, owned by J. F. Mclntyre, has, 

 in one yard, some 600 hives of bees; but the 



