FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 97 



putting in double the number ; that is, there is no more 

 danger of a bee going into the wrong hive by mistake, 

 than if only a single hive stood where each pair stands. 

 If hives stood very close together at regular intervals, a 

 bee might by mistake go into the wrong hive, but if a 

 colony of bees is in the habit, as mine sometimes are in 

 the spring, of going into the south end of their entrance, 

 they will never make the mistake of entering at the north 

 end, as you will quickly see if you plug up, alternately, 

 the north and south ends of the entrance. When the 

 north end is closed it does not affect the bees at all, but 

 close the south end, and dire consternation follows. To 

 the bees the pair of hives is much the same as a single 

 hive, and thev will not make the mistake of entering the 

 wrong end. 



A space of 2 feet or so is left between one pair of 

 hives and the next pair, so as to leave plenty of room 

 for a seat. 



GROUPS OF FOUR HIVES.*/ 



In two of the apiaries there is a still further economy 

 of room by placing a second row close to the first, the 

 hives standing back to back. That, you will see, makes 

 the hives in groups of four. I do not know of any ar- 

 rangement that will allow a larger number of hives to 

 stand on a given surface. The difference in the amount 

 of travel in the course of a year in such an arrangement 

 as compared with one without any grouping, is a matter 

 not to be despised. 



SHADE. 



Trees shade most of the hives at least a part of the 

 day, and at one end of the home apiary the trees were so 

 thick that I cut out part of them. I had previously 

 thought that shade was important, and that with sufficient 

 shade there was never any danger of bees suffering from 

 heat, but after having combs melt down in a hive so 

 densely shaded bv trees that the sun did not shine on it all 



