FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 43 



erally come out of their hives till some time after being set 

 on their stands. If at any time a colony seems inclined to 

 come out of the hive, a little smoke is given at the en- 

 trance. At other times it would be bad to have smoke 

 in the cellar, but as the bees are immediately to have a 

 chance to fly, it does no harm to have the cellar filled 

 with smoke. The hive entrances are left open, and as 

 the hives have been taken into the cellar with covers and 

 bottom-boards just as on the summer stands, the work 

 can be done rapidly. 



Before each hive leaves the cellar, I make sure there 

 are live bees in it, by placing my ear at the entrance. If 

 I hear nothing I blow into the entrance. That generally 

 brings an immediate response, but sometimes I will blow 

 several times before getting a sleepy reply from a strong 

 colony. That pleases me. If any are dead they are 

 piled to one side in the cellar. 



PLACING OF COLONIES. 



Colonies intended for the home apiary are set upon 

 their stands. Those for the out-apiaries are set upon the 

 ground not far from the cellar, being placed in pairs, 

 two hives almost touching, then a space of a foot or 

 more between that pair and the next pair, so as to occupy 

 as little room as possible. (Fig. 10). Sometimes some 

 attempt is made to have colonies occupy the same stands 

 they occupied the previous year, but oftener no attention 

 is paid to this. Close attention, however, is paid to select- 

 ing the colonies that are to be in the home apiary. 



BEST BEES FOR HOME APIARY. 



The hives with queens having the best records were 

 all marked the previous fall by having a stick tacked on 

 the front. These are all put in the home apiary. Not 

 that queens wall be reared from all of them. The one 

 or two very best colonies may furnish all the young 

 queens, the rest will furnish choice drones. By doing 

 this from year to year I ought to have better stock than 



