14 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REViEt^ 



work : That of having room in the 

 hive for an abundance of stores, and 

 brood room, so that the bee-keeper can 

 put his bees into winter quarters in the 

 fall, and know they will not have to be 

 looked after, reg^arding stores, before 

 the honey flow in June. This is a 

 money saver in labor, and is one of the 

 main factors in "business bee-keep- 

 ing," and do not forget this important 

 fact, that even with a few bees in a 

 home-yard, while it is possible, it is 

 not profitable, during the spring, to 

 feed up weak, light colonies — feed in the 

 fall. No one has ever written with 

 half enough emphasis upon the im- 

 portance of having bees rich in stores 

 during the breeding season of sixty 

 days previous to the main honey flow, 

 which comes in June, in this location. 

 Those two extra combs of honey, in 

 the ten-frame hive, are a bank account 

 that is impossible to acquire in the 



eight-frame size of hive. I have seen 

 the eight-frame hive-man going over 

 over his bee-yard, during May, pail of 

 bee-feed in hand; and he needed to do 

 it, as many of the colonies, especially 

 during the period between fruit bloom 

 and the white honey flow in June, 

 would surely starve, if they were not 

 fed. 



Let me repeat : Use 10-frame Langs- 

 troth hives; feed every "short" colony 

 so that it will go into winter quarters 

 with from 25 to 30 pounds of good 

 stores. 



The above two items, I consider of 

 vital importance; especially in the 

 production of extracted honey, in out- 

 yards, on an extensive scale. It's the 

 foundation to work on; and I reserve the 

 right to repeat it, at any time, and as 

 often as I see fit, in my subsequent 

 articles. 



Remus, Mich. Jan. 2, 1907. 



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E. F. ATWATER. 



¥E have been so successful in the 

 management of our most distant 

 yard, that I shall endeavor to give to 

 the readers of the Review a careful 

 description of the management, with 

 its mistakes as well as its successes. 



This yard was established in Aug- 

 ust, 1905, 36 miles from home, in a 

 locality somewhat less liable to fail- 

 ures of the honey flow, than is the 

 home district. 



In 1905, the crop in the home district 

 was a failure; several yards getting 

 only winter stores, while others gave a 

 crop of from 9 to 20 pounds per colony. 

 If we had owned an apiary where we 

 now have our distant yard, a fair crop 

 could have been taken; and this was a 



reason for the establishment of this 

 apiarj'. 



In the fall of 1905, at this place, we 

 put 93 colonies in rows, two tiers high, 

 covering the rear and top with tarred 

 paper, which is as good as any method 

 of wintering in. this mild climate, 

 where the great majority do not pro- 

 tect the hives at all. This method is 

 fine for any locality where conditions 

 are similar; especially if a perfect 

 wind-break is not present. We also 

 bought a nearby yard of 63 colonies, 

 the previous owner agreeing to protect 

 the hives with tarred paper. 



Early in April, 1906. I took the train 

 for our new yard, and, on arriving, 

 found that the 63 colonies had not been 



