858 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15 



one of the yards I took a photo, and this I 

 present before you. In this case we used 

 the ordinary wagon with high wheels and 

 hay-rack on top, with 35 colonies on the 

 load. The driver sits in front, while the 

 apiarist sits in the rear to watch the bees. 

 The driver, on arriving at the outyard, 

 leaves the bees and the man, who, after he 

 has got the colonies in proper position, en- 

 trance-screens removed, takes the next car 

 for home or for the next yard on the line. 



"We were thinking somewhat of having 

 the bees, as soon as the cars get up to our 

 factory, loaded right on to the baggage-car, 

 and unloaded again at one of the outyards, 

 which shall be close to the railroad. In 

 this way, if the charges are not too great, 

 we shall dispense with horses entirely. 



The electric railway is going to solve 

 many of the problems connected with out- 

 apiaries. It will enable one or two men to 

 take care of several apiaries; save the ex- 

 pense of wagons and horses, and at the 

 same time do away with the danger of hav- 

 ing a runaway or horses stung to death, and 

 perhaps having the bees scattered for miles 



up and down the road. It takes not to ex- 

 ceed ten minutes to get to any one yard un- 

 der the present plan, from the home yard. 

 From the yard furthest north to the one 

 furthest south is about ten miles, and yet 

 each yard is within a comparatively few 

 minutes of the home apiary. Five and at 

 most ten cents will take the man to the 

 yard, without fatigue; and when he fin- 

 ishes his work he can take the next car and 

 drop off at the next yard. 



So far we have not carried out the plan 

 in all its fullest details, because the elec- 

 tric road is not yet completed, and at pres- 

 ent we have to drive to one of the yards; 

 but I can see possibilities in the handling 

 of bees by electricity, so to speak, for a 

 young man of limited capital who can not 

 afford to keep a team of horses and a set of 

 wagons. 



There is still another point to consider: 

 When the honey is finally taken off the 

 hives it can be delivered right to the mar- 

 ket, without any hauling. The problem of 

 outyards is one of transportation, and the 

 electric line comes very near solving it. 



THE ROOT CO.'S TEAM AND A LOAD OF BEES FOR AN. OUTYARD; A PART OF THE MAIN 



BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND. 



