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E. D. TOWNSEND S PINE LAKE YARD IX MECOSTA COUNTY, MICHIGAN. 



THE LOCATION OF EXTRACTING 

 YARDS. 



The Advantage of a Prolected Apiary; 



How to get the Honey to the Extract- 



ing-house with the Least Effort. 



BY E. D. TOWNSEND. 



If the bees find as much genuine pleasure in 

 working in a yard where there is good outside 

 protection from prevailing winds as the operator 

 does, then there can be no doubt that this outside 

 protection is a good thing. My boys are always 

 glad when we have finished extracting at one 

 of our yards where there is but little protec- 

 tion; and they look forward gladly to the work 

 at our Pine Lake yard where there is protec- 

 tion from the wind. In our bee-keeping ex- 

 perience 1 suppose wc have had yards in at least 

 25 different places, and in all kinds of locations 

 — some well protected, and others not protected 

 at all from the prevailing winds; therefore we 

 think we have learned the value of protection, 

 from actual experience. 



No two of our yards are arranged on the same 

 plan, for the hives are so located as to take ad- 

 \antage of ilie particular lay of the ground. As 

 far as possible we locate our extracting-houses in 

 the lowest part of the yard to facilitate the wheel- 

 iiig-in of the honey. Wheelbarrow paths are 



chosen, leading from different parts to the house. 

 At our Pine Lake yard, however, as shown in the 

 engraving, we were obliged to place two of the 

 rows of hives on the ground that was lower than 

 the door of the honey-house. The main path 

 for these two rows is at the upper side of both 

 rows, where the ground is on a level with the 

 honey-house door. In this way, by loading the 

 wheelbarrow at the back of the upper row it is 

 not necessary to run up hill after reaching the 

 path. When the load is taken from the lower 

 row the wheelbarrow is placed so as to be pushed 

 directly up theshort hill into the path. We have 

 found that it is easier to push a load up a short 

 steep hill than to push it all the way to the hon- 

 ey-house up a hill that is very much longer, al- 

 though not nearly so steep. 



On level ground it is not difficult to arrange 

 the yard so that it will be convenient to wheel in 

 the honey from all parts; but where the ground 

 is une\en, a little planning must be done in order 

 to make the work easier. If the ground is very 

 uneven it is not best to try to keep the hives in 

 rows, but to group them to some extent; for the 

 first thing to do is to secure good wheelbarrow 

 paths, of which there should be three or four 

 leading to the honey-house. These paths need 

 not necessarily be straight, for it is many times 

 much easier to travel a little further in order to 

 avoid a grade. 



Having these main paths selected, the yard ^^ill 



