1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEK CILTrHE 



783 



Conversations with 

 Doolittle 



At Borodino 



ARRANGING AN APIARY SYMMETRICALLY. 



"I have 107 colonies of bees, all nicely 

 housed in the cellar; but next spring I am 

 to move to a new location. Where I now 

 live 1 have been in the habit of having my 

 hives arranged ' any old way, ' and I am tired 

 of such work. When I get to my new place 

 will it be advisable to arrange the hives in 

 the apiary symmetrically, with reference to 

 each other, and is there any harm likely to 

 result from such arrangement?" 



" For your convenience I think such ar- 

 rangement decidedly advisable, and, if right- 

 ly done, I think no harm can result. 



" There are two objections when hives are 

 set too close, the first of which is quite seri- 

 ous — the loss of young queens. Where an 

 ap ury is laid out on the hexagonal plan, as 

 is considered the best by our most practical 

 apiarists there is quite a sameness about 

 the rows, and the hives in the rows, through- 

 out the whole apiary; and if the hives are 

 too close together, the young queens, when 

 they go forth to meet the drone, seem to 

 fail in marking the hive she came from, so 

 that often on her return she enters the wrong 

 hive, in which case she is killed. This re- 

 sults in the loss of the colony from which 

 she came, unless the bee-keeper notices it 

 and supplies the bees with another queen. 



"After trying different distances I now 

 use a ten-foot plan — that is, the rows of hives 

 are ua feet apart, and the hives stand ten 

 feet apart in the rows, from center to ceuter." 



'1 suppose I can have all the room I need; 

 but what would the result be if 1 use half 

 that space, or five feet from aenter to cen- 

 ter ? ' ' 



" Unless you take some other precaution 

 1 should fear a loss; and, besides, with hives 

 that near together you would bediscommod- 

 ed ii your work. Each of your hives will 

 take up nearly two feet of room, so you would 

 have only about three feet 16ft when going 

 straight along the rows; and when it comes 

 to traveling obliquely, as you will want to 

 do more often than otherwise, you will have 

 still less. Then if you use a wheelbarrow, 

 cart, or something of that kind to convey 

 hives, supers, honey, etc., about the apiary, 

 you will De coming in contact with the hives 

 .so often that you will wish you had kept on 

 in the old way. But with the ten-foot plan 

 you will be pleased with all the different 

 streets and avenues that the hexagonal plan 

 will give all through the whole yard." 



" I suppose the hives could be painted 

 dilferent colors, thus helping the queens in 

 knowing their own hives?" 



" Painting helps somewhat; but trees of 

 different kinds and sizes are of much great- 

 er benefit. With half a dozen trees scatter- 

 ed about in an apiary of 200 colonies there 

 is little trouble, and they are very restful, 



on account of shade, to the hot and tired 

 bee-keeper when the mercury is hovering 

 from 90 to 100 degrees." 



" What was the other item besides the 

 young queens failing in their markings?" 



"If you practice clipping the queens' 

 wings, as nearly all bee-keepers do, a return- 

 ing swarm sometimes attempts to enter ad- 

 joining hives. This can be remedied by 

 covering them with sheets, where natural 

 swarming is allowed. But the day of natu- 

 ral swarming is nearly or quite a thing of 

 the past with the specialist; and where such 

 is not allowed, of course this part cuts no 

 figure in the matter." 



"I suppose the j'^oung bees mix some on 

 their first flight, in closely laid-out apia- 

 ries ? ' ' 



"Yes, to a certain extent; but with me 

 this has been of little account, and especial- 

 ly as I have always had a few trees on the 

 outskirts of the apiary." 



■'Tell me how I may best lay out my 

 ground for 200 hives." 



"This I have told several times in the dif- 

 ferent bee-papers." 



" This may be so; but I am a beginner in 

 trying to keep a tidy api iry, and beginners 

 are coming on all the while. Such do not 

 want to wade through old musty volumes 

 to find out what was told long years ago." 



"Procure a string about 210 feet long, and 

 tie each end to a strong nicely sharpened 

 stake. Next stretch it just where you wish 

 your first row of 20 hives to be. If this 

 string is of common binder twine, it will be 

 better than any thing else you can get, as 

 it stretches but little. Having place! your 

 line, measure off five feet from one end of 

 it, and at that place tie a reJ string to the 

 twine. Now measure off five feet from this 

 string, out along the line, and tie a white 

 string. Fiv^e feet further tie another red 

 string, and five feet from ihis another white, 

 and so on until you reach the fortieth string 

 tied on. Now stick a little stake at each of 

 the twenty red strings, for here are to set 

 your twenty colonies on the first row. Now 

 move your line ahead ten feet and stick a 

 stake at each of the white strings, where 

 you will set the next twenty hives. Move 

 ahead ten feet again, sticking the stakes at 

 the red, then ahead ten feet again, sticking 

 stakes at the white, and so on till you have 

 your twentieth row completed. You will 

 now level down a nice place at each little 

 slake, and, if you can afford it, make a per- 

 manent plot, three by four feet, at each 

 stake, of concrete, on which to set each 

 hive. In this way you will have no trouble 

 about weeds and grass springing up all about 

 your hive, so close up that it will be a nui- 

 sance to the bees, and to yourself when 

 mowing the yard two or three times a year. 

 It is well to have the hives face the south, 

 and, if so, the four feet should be north and 

 south, so that this concrete block will go out 

 the furthest in front of the entrance, as this 

 helps the bees very mucti in their flights 

 where the apiarist does not mow the grass 

 at exactly the time needed." 



