CHAPTER IV 



ARRANGEMENT OF THE APIARY 



The location of tlie apiary as regards shade, windbreaks, and 

 convenience is very important. The questions of windbreaks and 

 shelter will be considered more particularly in the chapter on 

 Wintering. A suitable shelter from the prevailing winds of 

 early spring is of great importance, and the reader is referred 

 to Chapter XIII for a consideration of this phase of the subject. 



If one is starting from the beginning and can plan accord- 

 ingly, he will be able to so place the hives as to provide both a 

 suitable situation and a convenient one. To keep down expenses 

 is one of the essentials of successful bee-keeping, and to do so 

 every operation should be performed with a minimum of labor. 

 If one will but take the time to visit several bee-keepers, he will 

 find that some have the apiary so arranged as to enable them to 

 do the work with little more than half the labor necessary in 

 others. Neatness and a fine appearance are desirable, but they 

 are of secondary importance to convenience. If possible, the 

 apiary should be on slightly higher ground than the honey house, 

 and as near as possible. This will enable the operator to wheel 

 the heavy loads of supers to the house with a minimum of effort. 



Various plans of moving the honey from the hive to the 

 honey house have been recommended, but a common garden 

 wheelbarrow is perhaps as good as any. It is inexpensive, and 

 can be pushed over rough and uneven ground easier than a cart. 



Shade. — Bee-keepers are not fully agreed as to the value of 

 shade in the apiary (Fig. 19). Something depends, perhaps, 

 on the locality and the temperature during the heated season. 

 While no shade is necessary in the spring and fall, or in early 

 morning or late afternoon, shade during the heat of, the day in 

 mid-summer is very desirable. Comparisons of returns from 

 colonies in the shade and in the open sun fail to show decided 



