THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



431 



Out Apiaries for Extracted Honey 



By IRA D. BARTLETT, East Jordan, Mich. 



-^^W WILL not endeavor to solve the problem for those living in the 



Jl far west nor for those of the southern states, for it is quite a 



matter of location, and what should work out well here in the 



middle west might not do at all in the far south with their prolonged 



honey flows. 



My experience with bees has been entirely in the northern part of 

 the lower peninsula of Alichigan, where the flow starts with the willows 

 in April or early ^lay and ends with basswood and milkweed in July, 

 except for the fall flow of buckwheat and golden rod, which very sel- 

 dom causes anything unusual to attend to, but which is sometimes pre- 

 ceded by the willow herb. I will tell you how I manage, and so far as 

 the actual labor with the bees is concerned, outside of unpacking in 

 spring and packing up in fall for winter, any good man in perfect health 

 could look after one thousand colonies. 



There is really but one great thing to overcome, and that is swarm- 

 ing. Some might mention thieves and trouble from bears and skunks, 

 but bears in this locality at least are a thing of the past, and skunks, 

 although numerous, never cause any trouble that I can see. 



Now, for fear that the construction of my hives might have a bear- 

 ing on the result, I will describe the hive and then tell you how I manage 

 them, and you may draw your own conclusion. 



I use an ordinary full-depth, ten-frame body ; a bottom board which 

 gives a space under the frames of ^ inch in front and }i hich in rear; 

 a cover 20 inches wide and 24 inches long, made of pine and covered 

 with Neponset red rope waterproof fabric, which is the best material I 

 have ever found if painted before using. Exactly over the frames I 

 place a piece of 8 or 10-ounce canvas, and over this a sugar sack or 

 double piece of burlap. (Concluded next month.) 



We want to sell our honey and the market 

 seems too well supplied, ^^'hy not change this 

 to read "Eat More Honey." 



Wm. Vollmer, Akron, N. Y. 



[\ ery good, friend \"ollmer. We have had the 

 wording changed on one of our little cuts to read 

 as friend A'ollmer suggests, and give it here for 

 the benefit of the members. The question has 

 now suggested itself, has the time arrived when 

 the Review should stop advocating the keeping 

 more bees, and instead, advocate the practice of 

 producing better honey, at a better price. — Ed.] 



