ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION. 95 



all his time on a small business with small profits. The remedy is to 

 simplify the equipment as far as possible and systematise the time. 

 In our case the season is short and sharp, much attention that each 

 colony requires must be crowded into a few weeks, and can be given 

 by a professional visit every seventh, eighth or nineth day. So each 

 colony in each apiary has a call from one of the expert members of 

 the firm once in seven to nine days. The expert bee-keeper becomes 

 the physician and the colony becomes the patient. We do not put all 

 colonies through the same treatment any more than the medical practi- 

 tioner would prescribe the same treatment for all his patients. Per- 

 haps the results might not be so serious in our case as in the other, 

 but they would be serious enough, to my way of thinking. On each 

 visit each colony is examined to see that it has comb-space for both 

 eggs and stores, that its queen-condition is right, that it is free of 

 disease, etc., etc. Thus the periodical visit becomes much more than 

 merely looking for' queen-cells. In fact we consider that even if the 

 bees were not likely to swarm we would like to continue the professional 

 visits almost as often as we now make them on account of the regular 

 attention in other matters they enable us to give. This has particular 

 reference to requeening and seeing that the new queen gets safely 

 under way, making increase and also supering. With it all we symplify 

 as well as systematise the management. 



With this must go simplicity, uniformity and standardization of 

 hive-parts. We have adopted the 10-frame Langstroth hive as a 

 standard with one type of box for both super and brood-chamber and 

 one size of frame throughout. This is not offering any objection to a 

 larger frame; but we would object decidely to a different frame in the 

 broodchamber from that used in the super. 



In locating outapiaries the first consideration is the soil. For 

 clover regions a good stiff clay_with plenty of lime in and rolling country 

 is to be preferred. We do not worry very much about whether farmers 

 are growing alsike, for the introduction of bees to such a neighborhood 

 usually increases the sowing of alsike in a very short time. Next the 

 presence of other sources than clover should receive consideration, for 

 they are needed both spring and fall to get the bees in proper shape 

 for the main crop. Then the proximity of other apiaries must be 

 noted, for it is not to our advantage, nor to the advantage of other 

 bee-keepers to crowd a locality. Along with the conditions which go 

 to make a good honey producing location the commercial bee-keeper 

 must consider the roads which couple it up with his other sites. They 

 must be passable for an automobile at times when visits require to be 

 made. 



We now have the matter of locating outapiaries narrowed down 

 to the last and in many cases the most difficult point of all — the selec- 

 tion of actual sites for placing the hives. Usually in the "best clover 

 regions the land is all owned by farmers who have the most of it under 

 cultivation. Many of them are not friendly to bees and most of them 

 have no suitable place to set the hives. We used to look for a vacant 

 house in an orchard. This provides both an extracting house and 

 shade for the hives. But now the vacant houses are disappearing or 

 being renovated for the hired man, and usually the orchard is under 



