74 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



when night comes, and you have a 

 breathing spell, you will form a resolution, 

 to never get caught in such a mess again 

 if it is possible to avoid it. 



If the entrance is contracted, so that 

 only a few bees can fly at a time, it helps 

 to keep them flying at a more moderate 

 rate. We sometimes throw a shovel full 

 of sand into the entrance, then, with a 

 small stick, make an opening at one 

 corner, so that only a few bees can fly at 

 a time. This certainly helps to keep them 

 from mixing. I am sure the whole secret 

 lies in so managing that only a few bees 

 fly at a time. In other words, so manage 

 that the strong colonies, are not allowed 

 to show their extra strength in flying 

 force, and with the entrances contracted, 

 the strong colonies cannot throw out a 

 force much, if any, stronger than the 

 weak, or moderately strong colonies. It 

 seems that with this first, mad rush for a 

 flight, the bees forget all about marking 

 their location. Their whole bent seems to 

 be to rush out and get that much needed 

 flight, regardless of consequences. They 

 remember nothing of their previous 

 season's location; or, perhaps, they are 

 set upon a new juand. and, later, when 

 the desire to fly is satisfied, they begin to 

 think of home, and it is then that the 

 mixing is done. They seem to get started 

 to entering a few hives, then a great share 

 of the bees in the air are attracted to 

 these few hives; with the result that these 

 few colonies get the lion's share of the 

 flying force. 



This condition seems to be aggravated 

 if a stiff breeze is blowing, so as to blow 

 a cloud of bees over to one side of the 

 yard; for not many of these flying bees 

 have any idea of which hive is their home, 

 so they are ready to enter the first hive 

 they come to. In this case this leeward 

 side of the yard gets this larger share of 

 the flying bees. 



THE VALUE OF OUTSIDE PROTECTION. 



Quite a considerable of this drifting of 

 bees when set from their winter quarters, 

 would be prevented were the apiary 

 located in a protected spot. The ideal 



place would be to go into a cut-over loca- 

 tion, where the timber is a thick under- 

 growth, and clear off an acre or so. If 

 there is a thick growth of timber, 30 or 

 40 feet high, this will cause the wind to 

 blow over the apiary, not through it. 

 Outside of the benefit derived from pre- 

 venting this drifting, there are many other 

 advantages. Likely the most benefit de- 

 rived from outside protection is during 

 the bad weather of April and May. or 

 during the heavy breeding season, when 

 the field workers that gather our main 

 white honey crop' in June are being reared. 

 So much better do the bees build up in 

 these protected locations, that instances 

 are on record where bees were wintered 

 in the same repository, one-half of them 

 being taken to a sheltered location, and 

 the other half to an unprotected location, 

 with pasturage the same, and the pro- 

 tected yard built up strong; and filled an 

 upper story with honey, before the bees 

 in the unprotected yard were strong 

 enough to need an upper story. 



1 am sure that this question of outside 

 protection has never been given half 

 enough prominence. Outside of the benefit 

 to the bees, there is a comfort to the 

 apiarist sufficient to make it an object to 

 select a sheltered place. 



Is it any wonder that the Pine Lake 

 yard and the Isabella yard get special 

 care ? They are beautifully located in 

 the virgin forests, where the cotton tail 

 lives, where the chipmuck and red squir- 

 rel are at home, and the bobolink rises 

 and welcomes us as we approach. 

 ' After knowing these things, is it any 

 wonder that we all want to attend these 

 especial yards ? This is a special advant- 

 age in out-yards. We are not compelled 

 to keep our bees except in these ideal 

 locations. This is no idle dream; for we 

 have it well-illustrated in our Heminger 

 yard, where there is no shade whatever, 

 if 1 ask the boys who will go with me to 

 the Heminger yard today, the answer is 

 usually :'i guess 1 will go to the Isabella, 

 or Pine Lake, or the Windling yard." 



Remus, Mich., Jan. 5. 1907. 



