104 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



good road through the fields runs directly 

 into the yard; or, when bees are about, 

 one can turn off about two rods from the 

 honey house, which, together with the 

 undergrowth, forms a wall to throw the 

 bees entirely out of the way. Open fields 

 on all sides, well pastured, with only the 

 green undergrowth close by the bees, in- 

 sures protection from fires, and a very 

 slight slope from all directions towards 

 the honey house makes easy handling of 

 bees and honey. 



In the chart, working alleys are desig- 

 nated by arrows, and entrance to hives 

 by dots. As will be noticed, some of the 

 hives are built with two entrances and 

 contain two colonies. They are all chaff 

 hives, and these are placed so neither en- 

 trance faces directly into the working 

 alley, except where they are the last hives 

 in the row, where there will be very little 

 passing in front of them. 



Foundations were all made by driving 

 cedar stakes, four for each hive. This is 

 the easiest way I have ever found for 

 making a level foundation. 1 made all 

 the stakes in one half day for 65 colonies, 

 and drove and leveled them in less than 

 another half day; laying out the ground 

 and leveling the alleys as I went. 



Ths honey house will be built in sec- 

 tions, and bolted or hooked together. 

 Floor, ceiling, and roofing will all be built 

 of matched lumber, and the roof covered 

 with tar-paper or roofing. It will have 

 two coois; one opening into the yard and 

 one out. The fences are built of four 

 strands of barbed wire to keep out cattle 

 and horses and high enough from the 

 ground to allow the sheep to pasture the 

 yard, which will keep down the grass and 

 weeds. 



Barryton, Mich., Mar. 1, 1911. 



Some Reasons Why Fall Feeding Cannot Take 

 the place of Spring Feeding. 



LEO E. GATELEY. 



^^^::^HE position assumed by many 

 € J leading apiarists upon the ques- 

 ^^^ tion of feeding, appears to be en- 

 tirely in favor of providing all colonies 

 previous to winter with sufficient stores, 

 that none will require such attention at 

 the opening of spring. 



Undoubtedly, the situation of colonies 

 during early spring is somewhat modified 

 by the condition in which they went into 

 winter quarters; yet, it would be illogical 

 to depend implicitly upon autumn feeding. 

 In theory, fall feeding may appear of im- 

 mense value, but in actual practice it will 

 be quickly demonstrated that bees cannot 

 be led into rapid breeding through the in- 

 strumentality of abundant stores. Not 

 until new honey, or an equivalent substi- 

 tute, begins coming in regularly and plen- 



tifully, will colonies start breeding in dead 

 earnest. 



For considerable time after the close of 

 winter, many colonies fail to gain appre- 

 ciably in strength, though rearing brood 

 constantly. This difficulty arises from 

 the fact that brood-rearing activities are 

 at all times limited to colony conditions, 

 and, in amount, is but slightly beyond the 

 high death-rate of the aged workers. 

 When unmolested, average colonies may 

 gradually gain in strength and, after a 

 time, suddenly take a new lease on life, 

 quickly surmount the critical stage and 

 become populous. But for an early honey 

 flow, this desirable breeding stage is sel- 

 dom reached in time sufficient to populate 

 the hives to their full capacity by harvest. 



With a view to enlarging the brood- 



