Vol. XY1I, 



MARCH 1, 1889. 



No. 5. 



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OUT-APIARIES. NO. III. 



DISTANCE APART. 



TFyou have only one apiary, you may not feel 

 41? greatly interested as to the proper distance at 

 ^ll which to locate apiaries but when you come 

 **■ to locate your first out-apiary, you will give 

 the matter at least a little thought, but only so 

 far as to feel safe that the two apiaries shall not se- 

 riously interfere. When, however, you contem- 

 plate any thing beyond the first out-apiary, the 

 thought will likely occur that you do not know just 

 where the limit may be, and that you may as well 

 plan quite a little ahead, and then you may become 

 intensely interested to know just how far apart a 

 series of apiaries should be planted. If the field is 

 all clear to an indefinite distance, you can plant 

 them ten miles apart and feel easy; but then the 

 distance to travel from one apiary to another would 

 be quite a serious matter. So the thing you will be 

 interested to know is the least possible distance at 

 which they may be planted without interfering 

 much, for a little interference at the outskirts of 

 each range, where the flight is longest and the bees 

 fewest, will be more than compensated by the short- 

 er journey from one apiary to another. Just ex- 

 actly what is the largest profitable range to allow 

 an apiary, and the most profitable distance at 

 which to plant a number of apiaries, is probably 

 known to no one, and it is not likely that any one 

 will ever have positive knowledge about it. 

 On planting my first out-apiary I supposed I 



should have it about five miles away ; but as a matter 

 of convenience I made it three, and I have gradual- 

 ly come to the conclusion that three may be about 

 right— a conclusion that is confirmed by the experi- 

 ence of others. I asked my friend Capt. Hethering- 

 ton, "About what is a fair distance apart for api- 

 aries?" He replied, " Our own are located at about 

 an average distance of three miles. In locating- we 

 are governed in a measure by the lay of the land— 

 the bees will make longer flights, and gather honey 

 to greater advantage, when they follow the valleys. 

 I think few bee-keepers appreciate the importance 

 of this consideration." I confess I never thought 

 of it before, and I have no doubt the captain is 

 right. 



P. n. Elwood gives an answer that does not con- 

 flict. He says, " I think about three miles. It de- 

 pends somewhat on the lay of the land. I have an 

 apiary two miles from home, in a parallel valley. 

 Hetherington has one a little less, on the brow of a 

 steep hill." 



In addition to the " lay of the land," other consid- 

 erations may have something to do with the mat- 

 ter of location ; but in order to get at a general rule 

 we will consider the country a dead level, uniform 

 in every respect. The first thought maybe to plant 

 an apiary first north, then south, then east, then 

 west. That will not do. It must be remembered 

 that the range of flight from an apiary is in the 

 form of a circle, not a square. In the next issue we 

 will speak of this same matter further. 



Marengo, 111, C. C. Mii-lek, 



