138 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Topics o! Interest. 



Location of an ABiary, 



B. E, EICE. 



(Concluded from last week.) 



With your permission, I would like to 

 call your attention to something that is 

 being used a good deal by some of our 

 largest and most successful bee-keepers 

 at the present time, which they claim is 

 very essential, and also very beneficial 

 to the bees, and that is a good shade for 

 the protection of the bees throughout 

 the hot season of the year. The reasons 

 why we should use them are many. 



I have shades for about 35 colonies of 

 bees in my apiary, and from those that 

 are so shaded I am fully convinced that 

 I get at least one-quarter more honey 

 during the hot season than from those 

 not shaded at all. The reason of this is 

 that the whole force keeps steadily at 

 work right along, and saves time. 

 While, on the other hand, those that 

 have no shade to protect them, will 

 crawl out of their hives and cluster on 

 the shady side, following this up day 

 after day, because it is so hot that they 

 cannot stay on the inside. 



The first swarms I got last year were 

 from colonies that were shaded, and I 

 think we had better study their comfort 

 a little more in this direction, and if we 

 find that it i? a benefit to them to be 

 protected from the sun, of course, supply 

 them ; and, as I have stated before, if 

 there was anything that we could do for 

 our bees to give them an advantage, by 

 all means give ic to them. 



This subject should not be dismissed 

 until the different kinds of shades to be 

 used, and the best mode of constructing 

 them for use, have been discussed. The 

 very best shade, in my opinion, that can 

 be used for this purpose, would .be one 

 that we can derive the most benefit from 

 in the shortest time, and with the least 

 expense to the owner, and from my own 

 experience, I think the grape will fill the 

 bill nicely. 



I find that the vines not only afford a 

 beautiful shade for the bees, but the 

 second year, by a little judicious care 

 and' pruning during the season, they 

 will give the owner a fine crop of fruit. 

 This is what I call a combination — two 

 crops produced on the same ground, and 

 at the same time, and one will nicely 

 preserve the other. I use Concord 

 grapes for this purpose, as they are 



hardy and good growers, and are cheap. 

 They can be bought for about 6 or 7 

 cents each — good, fresh two-year-old 

 vines. 



My shade is constructed as follows : 

 Take two small posts about 53^ or 6 

 feet long ; sharpen one end, set them 

 just south of the hive, about 33^ or 4 

 feet apart east and west, and drive them 

 down until they are about 43^ feet 

 above the ground. Then nail lath or 

 any other strips on them, at equal dis- 

 tances apart, from the ground up to the 

 top. Have this trellis about one foot 

 from the hive, then set a good, fresh 

 two-year-old grape vine right under the 

 center of the trellis; and the second 

 year it will surprise you, unless you are 

 somewhat posted on the growth of 

 grape vines. 



There are other things that will 

 answer nicely for shade, one of them 

 being the mammoth Japanese sunflower, 

 planted on the south side of the hive. 

 Its nature is to grow stalky, and with 

 an abundance of foliage, which protects 

 the hive nicely, so I am told, and the 

 seed is used for feeding fowls, and for 

 other purposes, and when raised in 

 desirable quantities, can be sold in 

 market for medicinal and other purposes. 



Some have advocated the setting out 

 of small evergreen trees just south of 

 each hive. When small they would be 

 nice, but after a little they would be a 

 nuisance, for they would afford too much 

 shade. 



My wife, being a lover of most all 

 kinds of flowers, thought that if morn- 

 ing glories were planted on the south 

 side of the hives, and trained on the 

 trellises, that they too would make very 

 nice shades for their protection. 



CONVENIENCES AND TOOLS. 



Here is where I think the cost comes 

 in. Although some can get along with 

 much less than others, and even do the 

 same kind of work, the only way I can 

 see is to do the best we can under our 

 circumstances at the time, and provide 

 ourselves with those things that are 

 necessary, as we see the need of them. 

 But there are some things necessary to 

 have at the start, and in naming them I 

 shall be obliged to state what they are 

 used for. Among those that I consider 

 of the most importance, is a book called 

 a "Queen Register;" but I use it for 

 more purposes than that, and in order 

 to show you the usefulness of it in a 

 well-located apiary, I will state how I 

 use it. 



I have all of my hives numbered. For 

 instance, take the first page and record 



