10 A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT- APIARY 



in, the other two combs spaced, and the hive closed. The diagram shows 

 the arrangement. 



I now fix the other twelve colonies in the same way, when all are 

 ready to do the best work possible In every way till white clover blooms. 

 Taking the years as they average, and fixing each upper hive with an 

 average of the reserve combs, as to honey for each colony, each will have 

 from 15 to 30 pounds, and this amount together with the way their 

 "riches" are fixed, and the bees straightening up things to their liking, 

 gives a zest to brood-rearing which soon very nearly or completely fills 

 the ten combs below, and that in time to give the maximum amount of 

 bees in the clover and basswood flow. If the bees do not secure honey 

 to any amount from the fruit-bloom, mustard, or locust, on account of 

 bad weather, as is often the case in this locality, they go right on with 

 their brood just the same, as the amount of honey they have demands no 

 retrenching. Then these combs act as a sort of balance-wheel; that is, if 

 a short flow of nectar comes for a day or two, there are empty cells in 

 abundance in which to store it; and the bees do not hesitate to take all 

 that is needed for the most prolific brood-rearing, if the next two days 

 or a week are days of storm, cold, or an entire failure of nectar. Thus 

 we have no days of crowding out of the brood with a sudden flow of 

 nectar on one hand or a slackening or failure of brood on account of 

 "famine" on the other hand; while at the same time this doubling of the 

 hive room entirely prevents any of the colonies contracting the swarm- 

 ing fever before the time for the working-out of our plan just when it 

 will give us the assurance of the most perfect success. 



THE IMPOETANCE OF GETTING THE COLONIES IN THE SPRING IN THE BEST 

 POSSIBLE CONDITION FOE THE HAKVEST. 



Again, I wish to quote from W. Z. Hutchinson: "Can you bring 

 your bees through the spring and have them in the best possible condi- 

 tion for the harvest when it comes? Are you sure there is nothinig you 

 can do in this period to increase your crop? I came across a bee-keeper 

 a short time ago who secured a crop far in advance of his neighbors; 

 and the only difference in his management, so far as I could discover, 

 was that he fed his bees between fruit-bloom and clover; and when the 

 latter came the combs were full of brood and food, and the surplus went 

 into the supers at once; besides, there were more bees to gather it." 

 This is just what this plan, as here given, accomplishes. The bees are 

 abundantly fed, so there is no slack in brood-rearing; the combs in the 

 lower hive (ten in number) are full of brood. There are nearly double 

 the bees to gather honey when the harvest comes that there are when 

 working by the old plans; and about the honey going into the supers 

 at once — I will let the worked-out plan tell you further on. 



If a good yield happens to be obtained from fruit-bloom, wild 

 mustard, and black locust, the brood-nest or lower hive is not crowded 

 with honey, as would have been the case had not this upper hive of 

 combs been given, for the combs of honey raised from below and put 



