3^ 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



high, with two roofs; one covered first 

 with sand, and next with dr\' leaves, and 

 then the second roof. There are two ven- 

 tilators; one in the entn,- and the other in 

 the cellar. 



This cellar is in the north side of the 

 hill where the yard stands; so we don't 

 carr>- the bees far when taken in and out 

 of the cellar; but I will not dwell on this 

 subject any longer, but go on with out- 

 apiaries. 



Until the spring of 1S94, we ran only 

 three apiaries; then we saw a fine location 

 eight miles north of the home-yard; a 

 drive over as good a farming country as 

 there is Wisconsin; not one hill, siniph- a 

 level, fertile paririe. This is Linden 

 valley apiary, and is shown in the frontis- 

 piece. It was named after a large ravine 

 that runs up back of the yard; the timber 

 being mostly Linden. The range of bluffs 

 back of the apiary is over 1000 feet 

 above sea - level; and heavily wooded 

 with all varieties of wood, and in all de- 

 pressions are plenty of lindens. 



Deer are quite plentiful throughout the 

 range. On the front side of the yard is 

 the paririe I mentioned before; and here 

 is where I get my white clover hone}- ; so 

 3-ou see I have picked a fine location. 

 Good water is there in plenty. A spring 

 just back of the yard is so large that I can 

 dip a full pail at a time, and is a fine 

 watering place for the bees. The bees in 

 this yard are wintered on their summer- 

 stands; in Champion chaff hives made by 

 the G. B. Lewis Co., of Watertovvn, Wis- 

 consin. These are fine hives, with loose 

 bottom boards. Those boards in front 

 of the hives are for the bees to drop on 

 when they come home hea\aly laden. I 

 raise the hives because they are cooler in 

 summer; also, so that I can mow the 

 grass to better advantage. The stands 

 are just the size of the hives, and six in- 

 ches from the ground, and have a slant of 

 two inches. The hives stand eight feet 

 apart each waj-. 



This yard is run for comb honey, and 

 is managed by myself, except when I ex- 

 change to get the other yards in working 



order. We rent the land, about an acre 

 or less, for five dollars a year. This, of 

 course, island that is not under cultiva- 

 tion. 



The four apiaries are run with two 

 horses, and three helpers, besides myself. 

 Father runs the yard west of town. This 

 is run for extracted honey, and wintered 

 on summer-stands; my younger brother, 

 who is quite young, runs the Indian 

 mound apiary; and mother attends to the 

 swarming at home; so, you see, the ex- 

 pense is not so large as one would think. 



The home-yard was bettered a great 

 deal b)' removing part of it, for the loca- 

 tion is nothing extra. 1 would never 

 think of overstocking an apiary again. 

 It takes a good location for a hundred 

 colonies. I thought thieves would eat up 

 all the profit, but I have had very little 

 loss so far. This winter a chaff hive was 

 opened; and two full frames of honey 

 taken out; but it did not injure the colony. 

 The best plan is to invite your neighbors 

 in and give them all that they can eat, and 

 some to take home to their families, and 

 you will have no trouble unless you are 

 located in a "hard nation." 



If you can get farmers to sow alsike 

 clover it will pay you to buj- them the 

 seed the first year. 



If there are no old Ijuildings in the 

 right place, it is the best* way to put up a 

 shanty of ship-lapp, 12 x 16, for ten or 

 fifteen dollars. An old stove can be got 

 for a dollar or two; and then, wuth a cot 

 and two or three pieces of bedding, you 

 can stay a few days if you wish. A ' 'bike" 

 is very handy when there is nothing to 

 can-}-; but I prefer a horse, so that I can 

 go when I please. I drive to my farthest 

 yard in one hour. Don't be afraid of 

 stock coming too near; for, if 3'ou have a 

 good fence, there will be no trouble. In 

 seventeen years of bee keeping, we never 

 had a mishap from stings. 



By all means, don't locate nearer than 

 one mile from a sorgum mill. The fur- 

 ther away the better. 



All bees must be moved before they 

 commence to store honey. Give plenty 



