80 THE PRACTICAL BEE GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XV. 

 ARRANCINC AN APIARY. 



145. Selecting a Position — Before actually beginning bee- 

 keeping, it will be well to select a suitable position for the 

 apiary. Bees in hives are sometimes kept in curious places — 

 on house roofs ; in narrow passages ; on window sills. A lady 

 in London has several stocks in her drawingroom. A hive 

 may be set up in one's bedroom, the bees having a passage 

 through a hole in the window sash. For an apiary out of doors 

 almost any position will suit. But there ought not to be any 

 serious obstruction to the bees' flight ; and there should be 

 room at the back of the hives for the owner, and a reasonable 

 distance between the apiary and the county road or other nlace 

 of public resort. 



146. Bees near Dwellings — It can hardly be said that bees 

 learn to know their owner as a dog learns to know his master : 

 yet it has been observed that bees located near dwellings 

 become accustomed to persons passing to and fro, and are less 

 likely to make themselves objectionable when one approaches 

 their hives, than if they were situated in a remote, quiet place. 

 Indeed bees, remarkable at one time for their gentleness, have 

 been known to develop very hasty tempers after having been 

 removed from their old stand near a dwelling, to a lonely spot 

 where they were never visited except for the purpose of 

 manipulation. Risk of unpleasantness may be minimised by 

 a wise arrangement of the stocks. If, for example, the hives 

 be placed thirty or forty yards south of a dwelling, and with 

 their backs to the house, the flight will be towards the south, 

 and the bees will give little or no annoyance. Should there 

 be a path or garden in front of them, a high fence, or hedge, 

 will " lift " them over the path, and will serve as a protection 

 for persons passing by. It is desirable to provide against 

 cold storms from the north and west. A hedge of strong 

 privet plants will quickly make an efficient shelter. Although 

 not absolutely necessary, it is advisable to have the hives, 

 or as many of them as possible, facing south-east ; because, 

 in that position, they will get the warmth of the early sun about 

 their entrances to entice the occupants out for early labour. 



