1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



727 



CONVERSATIONS WITH 

 DOOLITTLE 



AT Borodino, New York. 



LOCATING AN APIARY. 



"I have thirty-four colonies of bees and 

 am about to move to a new locality. How 

 should the hives be leveled?" 



" It is calculated that the entrance, or front 

 of the hives, or the doorway, if you like, is 

 better at the ends of the frames, and the hive 

 should be perfectly level from side to side, 

 and slope somewhat toward this entrance or 

 front, enough to carry off the water when it 

 rains. This also helps the bees keep the 

 floor or bottom-board clean, and many sup- 

 pose that, where the bees build their own 

 combs, they are more likely to be straight 

 within the frames. The whole, however, is 

 on the calculation that your combs in the 

 surplus apartment run the same way as do 

 those in the hive below." 



"But suppose that they do not." 



"Then tne hive should be level both ways 

 when the sections are on." 



"But how about the rain and the floor- 

 sweeping, in this case?" 



"As you have the sections on only when 

 the colony is very populous, the bees will 

 take care of this matter at such times; and to 

 fix matters as they should be at all other 

 times I use two half-bricks to each hive; and 

 at all times when the supers are not on, the 

 back end of the hive is raised up on these 

 two pieces of brick, which gives about the 

 right pitch toward the entrance. When the 

 supers are put on again the next season 

 these pieces of brick are taken out and left 

 beside the hive or under the bottom-board 

 when the hive is level again." 



"How far should the hives stand from the 

 ground?" 



"Here good authorities differ. Some say 

 from a foot to eighteen inches, while others 

 think from three to six inches better. I used 

 to lay two pieces of inch board on the ground 

 where I wished a hive to stand, and level 

 them. On these I placed the bottom-board, 

 which was u inch thick, with cleats 2 inches 

 thick nailed on the under side of it, these 

 preventing the bottom-board from warping. 

 This raised the hive about .3 '2 inches off the 

 ground, after the pieces laid down got fully 

 settled, and made a fairly good stand for 

 the hive. But of late years I place four half- 

 bricks on the ground, level them, and on 

 these I place the bottom-board, and the hive 

 on that, so that, after they are settled down 

 during one year's stay, tne hive is not far 

 from tour inches off the ground, this being, 

 to my mind, about the right distance. Then 

 we can use an alighting-board, with hives 

 thus near the ground, which could not so 

 easily be done if the distance were a foot or 

 more. ' * 



"Where hives are set two feet high 

 on cool days in early spring, when every bee 

 is of the greatest value, many bees fail to get 



home by being blown to the ground, or, in a 

 benumbed condition, drop under the hive in 

 the shade, where they die of exposure." 



"But are there not objections to such low 

 setting?" 



" The objections are that toads will get to 

 the entrance of the hive in the evening and 

 catch the bees; and ants annoy them more; 

 but I consider neither of these to be compar- 

 ed with the first. 



" How near should the hives stand to each 

 other?" 



" My apiaries are laid out on the hexagonal 

 plan, the hives being ten feet apart in the rows 

 from center to center, and the rows ten feet 

 apart. Many place them closer, some as near 

 as five feet; but I think that, where the ground 

 can be had without too much expense, the 

 saving of queens when going out to be fer- 

 tilized, the less mixing of bees when setting 

 from the cellar, and the ease with which the 

 ground can be mown and cared for, more 

 than pay for all of the extra cost of ground 

 and the extra travel which the ten-foot dis- 

 tance makes." 



"How do you get the hives arranged in 

 hexagonal form?" 



"Take a line of the desired length, ac- 

 aceording to the number of hives you wish 

 in any certain apiary, and near one end 

 tie a white thread or string. Five feet 

 from this tie a piece of red cord, and then a 

 white one five feet from the red, and so on 

 till you have red and white strings alternat- 

 ing at five feet from each other the whole 

 length of the Hue. Now stretch the line 

 where you want the first row of hives, and 

 stick a little stake at each white thread. 

 Then move the line ahead ten feet and stick 

 the little stakes at the red cords. Move 

 ten feet again, sticking at the white, and so 

 on till you get as many stakes stuck as you 

 wish hives at this place. Now level off the 

 ground to suit you at each stake; put down 

 your four half-bricks for each of the four 

 corners of your bottom-boards to rest on, 

 and you are ready for the colonies. For 

 convenience and beautiful appearance this 

 is superior to any thing else I know of." 



"Just one more question: In what direc- 

 tion should the entrance face?" 



"This is something that practical apiarists 

 do not entirely agree upon. However, all, 

 I believe, think it is better not to face any 

 hives north of an east and west direction. I 

 always have mine face south; but many think 

 southeast should be the way, for then the 

 morning sun will start the bees out to gath- 

 ering nectar early in the day. But really I 

 see Tittle difference in any southerly direc- 

 tion." 



"Why not face them toward the north?" 



"The facing of hives to the north is very 

 objectionable, as it nearly precludes the 

 flight of the bees during winter, and much 

 of the time during early spring and fall, and 

 also allows the cold north winds to blow in 

 at the entrance, thus retarding brood-rear- 

 ing, which is a disadvantage in building up 

 colonies to their maximum strength for the 

 harvest from white clover. ' ' 



