THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



207 



ener, for putting foundation into 

 eitlier shallow or deep frames. This 

 is an invention of the writer, and 

 solves the problem of fastening 

 foundation into frames to his sat- 

 isfaction. This device has been 

 worth hundreds of dollars to me. 



What about hives, etc? I have 

 endeavored to use the best mater- 

 ial I could afford. All deep frames 

 have been wired, and full sheets 

 of foundation are used in every 

 frame and section. This is real 

 economy. 



All my bees are located under 

 natural shade, and no extra cost 

 is incurred on this score. For a 

 number of years I painted all my 

 hives, but since I have been using 

 cypress lumber for hive-making, I 

 have abandoned that feature, which 

 was no little expense. Cypress hives 

 need no painting. After being used 

 for some years, they turn a slate 

 color, and need no painting for looks. 

 For hive stands I use solid blocks 

 of wood, one under each end, which 

 elevates the hives only 6 or 8 

 inches frcm the ground. This job 

 does not need to be done often; we 

 can have more time to give to 

 other things. 



Locating Yards and Number of Col- 

 onies in Each — 



All yards are located not less 

 than two and a half miles apart, 

 the farthest apart being about 4 

 miles. The yards are located in 

 lines that lead out from town in 

 nearly all directions; they lead 

 along the main highways or as 

 near to them as possible for con- 

 venience and water. Sometimes 

 to do this, we have had to follow 

 a settlement road for half a mile, 

 but as there are many creeks, and 

 lakes here, we do not have to lo- 

 cate, as a rule, far from the main 

 road. Tlie most of the lines only 

 run out to four yards. One line ex- 

 tending out to, and along, the river, 

 has 6 yards on it, and another, 

 that extends in another direction, 

 has 7 yards on it. The farthest 

 yard is over 30 miles distant. 



My town is a great railroad cen- 

 ter, and R. R. lines extend in near- 

 ly every direction, with stations 

 every three or four miles. Natur- 

 ally the yards are located near 

 stations, and nearly every yard 

 can be conveniently reached by 

 rail, enabling us to cover the field 



rapidly and do the necessary work 

 during the rush season. No auto- 

 mobile or motor truck is needed for 

 this purpose. All this I had in view 

 when I started in the business. The 

 yards are located within a few 

 steps of lasting water supply, eith- 

 er in spring, creeks or lakes, but at 

 a safe distance from high water 

 mark. The two longest lines of 

 apiaries run out in opposite direc- 

 tions, each to a river, for there is 

 a river on either side of my bee- 

 territory. The apiaries wind about, 

 following the windings of the 

 streams. In a subsequent article I 

 will draw a map of my system of 

 apiaries. 



The number of colonies in the 

 different yards runs from 4 to 

 120, according to the amount of 

 bee-pasture, and the results in 

 honey, and the ability to sustain a 

 given number of colonies without 

 feeding. 



Overstocking can not be deter- 

 mined except by keeping a certain 

 number of colonies in a given lo- 

 cation, for several seasons. More 

 colonies will become weak as a 

 result of overstocking, when honey 

 flow is weak.. 



All Honey Hauled to Home Yard 

 For Packing 



After a few seasons trial I aban- 

 doned the practice of packing honey 

 at each yard, and now carry all to 

 the home yard for packing. For 

 convenience, and to solve the labor 

 problem, I had to do this. I begin 

 taking off and hauling in honey as 

 soon as it is finished, leaving it 

 right in the supers, until it 

 reaches the packing room, where it 

 is at once removed and packed. If 

 the honey is extracted, the combs 

 are set right back into supers, and 

 carried back by the wagons going 

 after more honey, and placed back 

 on the hives. If the comb is cut out 

 and packed as chunk honey, full 

 sheets of foundation are immediate- 

 ly put in place, and carried out in 

 like manner as combs. If storing 

 room is not needed, the prepared 

 supers are set in the bee house at 

 the yard, to be used when needed. 

 Even the yards 30 miles away are 

 thus managed. 



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