THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



185 



apiary a1)out 8:30 a. ni., three to five 

 miles from home. Each man is readj^ 

 for duty, and they soon cliange the scene 

 in the apiary. All are a jolly set; and if one 

 should get a sting, he is quiet about it, 

 for fear the other boys inav laugh at him. 

 I will call them by number to be better 

 understood. 



Nos. I and 2 each have a team to care 

 for and drive; so, on arrival near the 

 apiary, they unhitch and put the teams in 

 the farm-barn near by; then bring to the 

 apiary the extractor that was stored in 

 some dry farm-building. 



No. 3, being the smallest boy, brings 

 two pails of spring water, one for drink- 

 ing and the other for wash- water. No. 4 

 leads the wagons into the apiary by the 

 side of the bee-house; then puts the 

 barrels, etc.. in place in the house. No. 

 5 lights the smokers, gets fuel in the 

 open box near the house, and each set of 

 tools in place, ready. No. 6 puts the 

 cloth roof and siding on the house, and, 

 with a couple of nails, fastens the board 

 in place with the screen-door attached 

 with spring hinges. This bee-house has 

 simply four corner posts seven feet above 

 the ground. The sides of the house are 

 each ten feet, with a foot-wide board 

 around the top and bottom. Cheese 

 cloth, two yards wide, and forty feet long 

 forms the entire .siding, and a heavy 

 ducking cloth, 10 x 12, forms the gable 

 roof, which gives plenty of shade in hot 

 days and sheds water if caught in a 

 shower. Small strips of leather are 

 sewed to the edges of these cloths 

 through which to drive the wire nails to 

 hold them in place. 



All this takes only from five to eight 

 minutes after arrival; then No. 5, with a 

 sharp Bingham knife, will uncap the 

 honey combs, while No. 6 attends to the 

 extracting straining, and filling of the 

 barrels holding 360 j>ounds each. I 

 usually take the place as No. 6; as I can 

 better take that place and at the same time 

 have a chance to see each hand, and give 

 orders. No. i, with No. 2 as a.ssistant, 

 and No. 3, with No. .} .is assistant, open 



hives, take out honey combs, brush off 

 what bees do not run oflF, by two or three 

 strokes of a very thin and wide brush- 

 broom, that is made specially for the 

 purpose, at a broom factory, of select, 

 fine stock. Nos. 2 and 4 bring these 

 honey combs, a set at a time, to the 

 house, and return with a set of extracted 

 ones to fill up and close the hive. The 

 first hive in the moniing has to be closed 

 up without upper combs, so as to have 

 combs ready for use in others, and the 

 last set is returned to the first worked 

 colony. To save time, and keep out of 

 each other's way, the honey combs are 

 set just inside of the door of the extract- 

 ing house, to the left side of the door, so 

 that No. 5 can get the combs, uncap them 

 over a box made for the purpose, and set 

 them close by the side of the extractor 

 without taking time for one or two steps. 

 No. 6 puts the honey combs in the ex- 

 tractor, which is a Cowan, four-frame, 

 reversible, with ball bearings and lever 

 brake — in short, best extractor on the 

 market. 



The empt}' combs are set by the right 

 side of the door, and without taking 

 more than one step. The field boys, Nos. 

 2 and 4, get rid of their honey combs, 

 and empty ones for exchange, by simply 

 going to the shoj) door. The little time 

 saved in these few steps may seem of 

 little importance, but it saves me daily 

 the cost of one more man. 



Every one as busy and happy as the 

 little pets we are working with, time 

 passes so swiftly that it seems but an 

 hour after our arrival when the alarm is 

 .sounded from the house — dinner. 



We all quit work as soon as possible 

 and not leave hives open. These boys 

 are active and hearty eaters, but even 

 this laborious task is done in order. Nos. 

 I and 2 feed the team; No. 3 gets a pail 

 of fresh spring-water; No. 4 takes the 

 baskets of dinner to a shady spot near by; 

 No. 5 spreads the cloth and sets the table 

 — picnic style. No. 6 cuts the loaves of 

 bread and carves the meat. Dinner over, 

 each has a duty \u packing up and get- 



