THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



369 



supplies. All these things come 

 slowly, and we must have patience. 



It^U'U^^'^'^L" 



KEEPING BEES IN LARGE NUMBERS — 



ARTICLES WANTED ON THE 



SUBJECT. 



Notwithstanding the little apparent 

 interest taken in this subject by some 

 of the journals, I know from corres- 

 pondence and from conversation with 

 bee-keepers, that many of them are 

 seriously contemplating the keeping of 

 more bees, of establishing out-apiaries, 

 and making a specialty of bee-keeping. 



The establishment and management 

 of out-apiaries bring in new factors, 

 and usually call for a complete change 

 of plans. Taking care of a few colon- 

 ies of bees, and managing hundreds of 

 colonies scattered about in several api- 

 aries, are so far different that they 

 might almost be called different occu- 

 pations. The man beginning to build 

 up out-apiaries has almost as much to 

 learn as has the man beginning to 

 build up his first apiary. 



With a view to helping these bee- 

 keepers who are about to branch out 

 and enlarge their businesses, I would 

 be pleased to receive articles from men 

 who have had experience in managing 

 large nnmbers of colonies. Here are 

 some of the points I would like taken 

 up. 



Number of colonies in the home-api- 

 arj' that will justify the starting of an 

 out-apiary; how far apart shall apiar- 

 ies be located; how shall locations be 

 selected; what arrangements with the 

 owner of the land are most desirable; 

 what method of travel is best in visit- 

 ing out-apiaries; how shall hives be 

 secured for increase, bought of the 

 manufacturer, or made by the bee- 

 keeper; how shall the increase be made 

 or secured (this is important); what 

 kind of honey shall be produced, comb 

 or extracted, and why; how shall the 

 swarming problem be solved; shall 

 there be a good building and a set of 



tools at each yard, or shall there be a 

 tent and tools carried from yard to 

 yard; how shall help be secured to do 

 the work, shall wages be paid, or a 

 share of the product given; shall 

 the bees be wintered out of doors, 

 or in cellars, (one at each yard) 

 or shall they be brought home and 

 wintered in one large cellar, and then 

 carted back in the spring? What are 

 the greatest obstacles to be overcome 

 in managing bees in large numbers? 

 What are the things that you know 

 now, that you didn't know when you 

 began establishing out-apiaries, that 

 would have been of the greatest help 

 toj'ou if you had known them? 



There are, of course, many other 

 points besides the ones mentioned; 

 these are given more as hints or sug.- 

 gestions, and not to be followed liter- 

 ally. I would like to have each writer 

 goon and tell those things that, accord- 

 ing to his experience, will be of the 

 most benefit if known by the man who 

 is beginning to branch out and keep 

 more bees. 



For such articles as I use, I will pay 

 liberally, in cash. 



QUEENS AND THEIR INFLUENCE UPON 

 SUCCESS IN BEE CULTURE. 

 (Read at the Ontario Bee Convention.) 

 I expect it will be called heresy, but, 

 many times, when reading extravant 

 expressions about "the whole of bee- 

 keeping centering upon the queen, " I 

 have felt like exclaiming: "Other 

 things being equal, one queen is as 

 good as another. ' ' This may be put- 

 ting it stronger than it will bear; be- 

 sides, it does not exactly express my 

 meaning. Perhaps I cannot make my- 

 self exactly understood, but I will try. 

 It is not so much what a queen is her- 

 self, as what her ancestors were; or, 

 rather, what her bees are. That is, 

 she may be an insignificant looking 

 specimen, may have been reared in a 

 manner wholly at variance with the 



