THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



pieces eight inches long, thenuniavel the 

 pieces and dra'w the middle of th« pieces 

 down the slot in the handle until the 

 slot is full, thus making a brush on each 

 side. Fasten by nailing the ends togeth- 

 er, or by wrapping wire around the end 

 of the handle. This brush is very du- 

 rable, soft, and pliable, and will not in- 

 jure the bees. It may be washed when 

 it becomes sticky with honey. 



After the bees are brushed off, the 

 combs are placed in a box upon a wheel- 

 barrow. When the box is filled it is tak- 

 en to the honey-house. This box for 

 transferring the combs to the honey -house 

 is made out of a cracker box, by putting 

 handles on the ends, and pieces on the 

 inside on each side about an inch from 

 the top, to hang the combs upon. 



In extracting we have an organized 

 crew; each man having his own work. 

 One man wheels the honey to the house, 

 another uncaps and fills the barrels, and 

 another turns the extractor. We have 

 an uncapping can with a wire basket 

 hanging inside the can, in which the cap- 

 pings are dropped and allowed to remain 

 until the honey drains out, when they 

 are put to soak in water, the liquid being 

 used for making vinegar. The cappings 

 are finally rendered into wax which is 

 converted into foundation. The extract- 

 or we use is the Cowan Reversible, 

 which is a great improvement over the 

 Novice, as one does not have to stop and 

 take the combs out to turn them. 



After the honey has been extracted and 

 strained it is drawn off into barrels, each 

 holding two hundred and fifty pounds. 

 We prefer this size package because it is 

 conmiodious, and well adapted to the 

 storing of large quantities of honey which 

 could not be cared for so easily in small 

 packages; and also because it is a very 

 cheap package. 



I will next tell how we establish our 

 out-apiaries. In establishing out-apiaries 

 we first look for a locality not having an 

 apiary, but having a flowing stream, with 

 soft maples and willows for spring pas- 

 ture, white clover^for June pasture, and, 



last, but not least, an abundance of 

 basswood, upon which our principal crop 

 depends. After finding a desirable local- 

 ity, we look fcra suitable piece of ground 

 upon which to place the apiary. The 

 ideal would be an eastern slope with pro- 

 tection on ihe north and west from the 

 spring winds, and only rolling enough 

 for drainage. The ideal is sometimes 

 difficult to find, although we have it for 

 one of our apiaries. After satisfying our 

 own minds that we have found the pro- 

 per location, we interview the owner as to 

 the possibility of our placing an apiary 

 upon his farm. Usually it is easy to get 

 the consent of the farmer. We have es- 

 tablished several out-apiaries, and, with 

 one exception, were never refused the 

 permission of placing an apiary upon a 

 farm. 



After getting permission, we make an 

 agreement with the owner as to the size 

 of the piece of ground, and the price for 

 rent, and proceed to make out a written, 

 contract containing the statement of the 

 size of ground, price and term of years. 

 When the contract has been compleled 

 we first fence the piece of ground with a 

 good barbed-wire fence of five wires, and 

 then lay it off to suit our fancy and con- 

 venience; then build a little building 

 about 12 xi6 for a honey -house. One 

 thing we are very particular about in the 

 building of our house, and that is to have 

 it built so well as to exchidc bees. We 

 are now ready to move our bees and 

 place them upon the stands, when we 

 have our apiary established for a term 

 of years. This work is done in the 

 spring. In fixing the bees ready to move 

 we fasten the frames in each hive, remove 

 the cover,. and place a wire screen over 

 the top of the hive. The screens are 

 made by using pieces of wire screen fas- 

 tened to a frame the size of the hive. 

 When the frames are fastened, and the 

 screens put on, we close the entrance se- 

 curely, and the hives are ready to be 

 loaded upon a large, flat, hay-rack made 

 ready for tlie occassion. We usually 

 place about twenty -four colonies upon one 



