38 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



season, how can any sane man say 

 that I am so decidedly in the wrong on 

 this subject of over-stocking-, as some 

 people try to make out? 



In the November Review you ask for 

 those who have kept bees in large num- 

 bers, and from my experience, I will 

 endeavor to answer some of your ques- 

 tions. 



NUMBER OF COLONIES THAT WILL JUS- 

 TIFY THE STARTING OF AN OUT- 

 APIARY . 



First comes the subject of overstock- 

 ing, which every man must settle for 

 himself; although I have never had a 

 location, nor seen one, that would not 

 furnish a good surplus of honey for 

 far more bees than it contained ; and 

 I have kept, since a boy, seyeral hun- 

 dred colonies. 



HAVE APIARIES WIDELY SCATTERED. 



If I were establishing out-apiaries 

 again, I should place them so far 

 apart that, frequently, one yard might 

 receive a local shower that missed the 

 other yards. A yard of bees that gets 

 a good shower at the right time, often 

 gives a nice surplus for many days 

 after. If I could have the apiaries 

 located exactly as I wished, I would 

 have them scattered, about 10 miles 

 apart, along the line of a railroad run- 

 ning north and south. In this section, 

 our showers all come from the west and 

 travel east; they are about five to ten 

 miles wide, and usually about 50 to 70 

 miles long. By this management we 

 might often have some of our yards in 

 a good basswood or buckwheat location 

 which we might not have at home. 



In selecting a location, be sure to 

 have it where there is a good natural 

 wind-break on the west and north 

 sides; high hills or heavy woods, 

 something that will furnish a sheltered 

 place of several acres. Try to have 

 plenty of water near by, as bees re- 

 quire far more water than many real- 

 ize. I should want the ground to 

 slope a little to the south or east, and 



then, above all thins^s, be sure you 

 have some one or more honey produc- 

 ing flowers in abinidance for 30 days 

 or more. When you have found these 

 necessary requirements, stock your 

 yards with the best honey gathering 

 strains of Italian bees that inojiey can 

 buy; and don't be afraid oi overstock- 

 ing your location. Try to buy the 

 land, one or two acres, where you want 

 your apiary. If you can't buy it, hire 

 it for a long term of years; and pay a 

 good rent so that the owner will be 

 well-satisfied. 



In regard to hives, I have found it 

 cheapest in the end to get all my hives 

 in the flat from a factory where they 

 do good work. 



I should make all increase artifi- 

 cially, and try hard to prevent natural 

 swarming. There are many good 

 ways of making increase, and some 

 day I may give you my way, which I 

 consider the best of any. We have 

 devoted all our bees, for about 20 

 years, to the production of extracted 

 honey. If short of help, I would 

 return to comb honey. Each kind 

 has some advantages over the other. 



In regard to buildings there should 

 be a good building at each yard, to- 

 gether with all the necessai-y tools, 

 even to a wash basin and towels. 



As to help, I always want the best 

 that I can possibly get. Pay them 

 good wages, and don't forget to 

 always treat them as you would like 

 to be treated. 



In this northern climate I should 

 want a good cellar at each yard to put 

 the bees in during the winter. If pos- 

 sible I would have it near the summer 

 stands, so that the bees can be carried 

 by hand to their summer quarters. 



I know of no more obstacles to over- 

 come in caring for 1,00(1 colonies than 

 in caring for 100. 



THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN STARTING 

 OUT-APIARIES. 



First, I now know that bees can 

 work to good advantage four or five 



