A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT-APIARY 9 



editor of Gleanings to be the shortest crop in the United States in 

 many years), the ten-frame hive is to be preferred to any thing smaller. 

 Nearly all that has been written during the past was from the 

 "view-point" of the home apiary, under the swarming system. W. Z. 

 Hutchinson has well said "that few of the writers in the journals write 

 from the point of view of the extensive bee-keeper — the man with out- 

 apiaries. So many times I remark to myself when reading the descrip- 

 tion of a method, 'That's all right when a man is in the apiary all the 

 time, but it won't work in an out-apiary.' " Just so. I have found while 

 working out the plan as here given that very nearly all of my writings 

 during the past were of no practical importance when working an out- 

 apiary on the non-swarming principle, with a view to the greatest pos- 

 sible amount of comb honey with the best possible labor. But, to 

 return : 



Having decided that 13 colonies are now ready for "treatment" I go 

 to No. 1 and take out the two outside frames, containing mostly honey 

 and pollen, putting two empty combs from the reserve pile in their 

 place. I now put on a queen-excluder, and on top of this I set another ten- 

 frame hive, having eight combs in it, the same being more or less filled 

 with honey, just in accord with the way these reserve combs come oft the 

 colonies the fall previous. Perhaps I'd best tell right here how I get 

 these reserve or extra combs. Wired frames were filled with founda- 

 tion and given to colonies to draw out into combs, till I had an extra set 

 of ten combs, or twenty nice worker combs for each colony I expected 

 to work at the out-apiary for section honey, each year. To return again. 



Having the hive with eight combs in it, set over colony No. 1, pre- 

 pared as given, I take the two combs of honey taken out, and shake the 

 bees from them so as to be sure the queen is not gotten above, when two 



of the eight combs in the upper hive are placed a bee-space apart, 

 toward one side of the hive, when one of the cambs of honey is put in. 

 Four more of the eight combs are now drawn toward the frame of honey 

 just put in, properly spacing them, when the other comb of honey is put 



