A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT- APIARY 5 



so that there is an additional lot of brood in these cells. This fact led 

 to what has been known as the "spreading of the brood," which has 

 been both praised and condemned at intervals during the last half-cen- 

 tury. I have tried the feeding and the spreading of the brood plans by 

 the side of the "rich-in-honey plan," as is given in this book, setting 

 apart a given number of colonies to each, only to prove, after numerous 

 trials and experiments, that the latter would outstrip either of the others 

 in the race for brood, as well as saving all feeders, all the labor of ex- 

 tracting and feeding, which amounts to a great tig lot when the same 

 is practiced on fifty, one hundred, or more colonies. Just put the combs 

 of honey in next the sides of the hive, shoving the frames composing the 

 brood-nest into the center, if it is not already there; and this once fixing 

 of the brood-chamber is all the work necessary for the largest amount 

 of brood the reigning queen can produce. 



In fact, after trying all other plans for stimulating brood-rearing at 

 the out-apiary I feel to say there is nothing that comes "anywhere near 

 in sight" of this plan of "millions of honey at our house." All talk about 

 daily feeding, as practiced by Mr. Alexander and others, or the spreading 

 of brood, as I have advocated during the past, is of no use at the out- 

 apiary, for the apiarist can not be there to attend to it. And, even if 

 he could, results show that the "millions of honey at our house" plan, 

 followed by what is to come hereafter, will outstrip any of the hereto- 

 fore known stimulating plans by far in the race for bees in time for the 

 harvest. 



I have dwelt on this matter, as I consider it one of the most im- 

 portant things when an out-apiary is worked for comb honey. After 

 seeing that all had 20 pounds or more of honey, the entrances were 

 enlarged to about 5 Inches in length for the best colonies, to 1% inches 

 for the weaker ones, or enough so the bees would not be crowded till the 

 next visit, which would be nearly a month later, or during fruit-bloom. 

 A cS.reful inspection of the brood showed that all the queens were good, 

 as all brood was in compact form, with eggs on the outside of the outside 

 combs to the brood-nest (not brood-chamber), all the cells within this 

 circle of eggs being occupied with one egg in each. 



I have noticed for years that a poor or failing queen does not lay 

 like this, but "scatters" to a greater or less extent according to her poor- 

 ness. "Where I find queens that are poor, as I sometimes do at this time 

 of the year, they are killed, and one of the weak colonies, with Its good 

 queen, is united with the colony from which the queen has been killed. 

 By attending to this queen matter when taking off the clover or bass- 

 wood honey each year, superseding all queens more than three years 

 old, and those younger which may show signs of failure, the problem of 

 poor queens in the spring is practically solved. Par better supersede at 

 that time than in the spring. 



This is something well worth "pasting in the hat." A careful look 

 over the yard, the last thing, to see that all was in "applepie" order, and I 

 was soon gliding in the auto over the road toward home at the rate of 



