180 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



Review, giving a synopsis of its pi'oposed 

 character. By the time the first number 

 was ready to mail, enough subscriptions had 

 been received to pay the expense of that 

 number. By the time the next issue was 

 out, enough money had come in on subscrip- 

 tions to pay for tliree or four issues. This 

 sort of thing continued until the end of the 

 year ; then came renewals accompanied by 

 many more new subscribers. From the very 

 first the advertising patronage has been 

 ■ good. Sometimes it has paid the running 

 expenses twice over. But it must be re- 

 membered that the manner in which we get 

 out the Review makes the expenses very 

 light — the only expense that is really felt 

 being that for white paper. The Review 

 not only pays its way but it more than sup- 

 ports our family. We beg pardon for again 

 referring to this matter, but if any credit 

 attaches to the manner in which the Review 

 has been built up and made to prosper, we 

 can't bear to see it given to a "barrel of 

 money" nor to "somebody's backing us 

 up." If we have had any " backing up " it 

 is only such as comes from the nimble 

 fingers, wise counsels and economical ways 

 of a loving wife, and it's all the " backing 

 up " we ask for. 



ESTABLISHING OUT APIABIES. 



Not a man that has tried it that doesn't 

 say "go slow" in starting an out apiary. 

 Be sure that the home yard is overstocked ; 

 that the loss from this source is greater than 

 the expense of moving part of the bees and 

 caring for them in another locality. 



After having decided to establish an out 

 apiary, the next step is the choice of locality. 

 We notice that most of our oorrespondents 

 are inclined to i^ut the out apiaries farther 

 apart than we suggested ; four miles being 

 the inside limit, with a leaning towards five or 

 six miles. Of course, the only objection to 

 the greater distances is the increase in time 

 spent in going and coming. When we are 

 " hitched up," however, and on the road, a 

 mile OK two fartlier does not make so very 

 much difference. The increased yield may 

 more than make it up. Of course, if the 

 apiaries are small, they may be nearer to- 

 gether, but it striljes us that each apiary 

 ought to be large enough to furnish a full 

 day's work at each visit. That the whole 

 surface of the cosntry does not furnish 

 equally good bee pasturage, is a point we 



missed in our leader, but it has been clearly 

 shown by the correspondence. It certainly 

 will be advisable to be to considerable pains 

 to ascertain the character of a locality before 

 stocking it with bees. It may be advisable 

 to put out " feelei's " for a year or two, as 

 friend Green has done. That is, place a few 

 colonies here and there throughout the coun- 

 try and notice how they " pan out." 



Next comes the question of hives. They 

 must be readily movable. When keeping 

 bees upon the out aniary plan there must of 

 necessity be much moving about of hives 

 from one apiary to another. As friend 

 Green expresses it, " to make the most of 

 an apiary it must be capable of being quick- 

 ly and easily moved at any time during the 

 working season." If the apiary at a certain 

 poii't is prospering finely, while labor is 

 suspended, or nearly so, at other apiaries, 

 let's mass the bees, or a part of them, where 

 the pasture is good. Just how many to take, 

 for fear of overstocking, would be another 

 fine point. Besides the moving of bees that 

 might be necessary in the working season, 

 there is the moving for wintering. Dr. Mil- 

 ler thinks that the establishing of out apiar- 

 ies will give us a leaning toward out door 

 wintering. Quite likely ; yet we think we 

 should still cling to the cellar. It would not 

 be advisable to build a cellar at each apiary. 

 Various are the reasons that might cause 

 this locality to be abandoned, when the cel- 

 lar would be dead capital. No, this would 

 not answer ; we should bring the bees all 

 home, a la Elwood and Hetherington, winter 

 them in a big cellar, and move them out in 

 the spring. Don't you see that the hives 

 must be readily movable ? There must be 

 no opening of hives to fasten frames, and 

 there must ])e some simple method of fast- 

 ening on bottom board and cover, and giving 

 ventilation, when needed, that can be ar- 

 ranged in just about — well not more than 

 two minutes. 



It will be seen that our correspondents 

 " go light " upon much expense in the way 

 of permanent fixtures, buildings and the 

 like, at out aitiaries. Tents and other make- 

 shifts are resorted to. In other words, an 

 out apiary is seklom supposed to be perma- 

 nently located. 



We are not surprised that out apiaries are 

 nearly always worked for extracted honey. 

 It is not profitable to keep some one in an 

 out apiary all of the time during the swarm- 

 ing season, and, at present, there seems to 



