A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT-APIARY 25 



breeze caused by the tireless running of the automobile. In this we 

 have what was done at the fourth visit although the same is pretty well 

 mixed up with other things pertaining to the developing of this plan. 



CHAPTER V. 



A SIMPLE AND RELIABLE PLAN FOE MAKING INCEBASB. 



Just ten days have elapsed since I started on my fourth visit to the 

 out-apiary, and I am getting ready to go again; but this time I am 

 obliged to go with the horse, on account of its raining seven days out of 

 the ten. So much rain has caused the roads to become almost impassable 

 on account of the mud; and the almost constant rain at this time has 

 caused the bright prospects of an abundant harvest of honey from white 

 clover, which has been more plentiful than usual, to fade nearly out of 

 sight. It does not rain this morning; but it is cool and cloudy, with a 

 fine mist in the air. Such a day is not adapted to working with the bees 

 to the best advantage; but it is necessary to go today, if I am to save 

 those nice queen-cells, which are of much advantage to me just at this 

 time. After a steady splash, splash, splash of the horse's feet in the mud 

 for nearly an hour (as I can not drive "off a walk"), we arrive at the 

 apiary. 



Having put the horse in the farmer's barn I now proceed to place 

 nine of the reserved bottom-boards, and as many covers on as many un- 

 occupied stands, when I go to the hive having the brood from the best 

 breeding queen that had the queen-cells with the little larva in them at 

 the last visit, and, upon examination, I very luckily find that six of the 

 ten combs have one or more fine, nearly ripe, cells on them. From one 

 frame having four cells on, and two others having five, I cut two cells 

 from each, and "graft" them into three of the frames having none, put- 

 ting the frames back in place again. The clouds are now "breaking" in 

 the sky, with the sun peering occasionally through the mist, which tells 

 me I am to have a fairly good day for my work, after all — far better 

 than I had even hoped for. I now take one of the frames having queen- 

 cells on it, together with the bees on the same, and carry it to one of the 

 hives having the tiered-up brood, taking from this a frame (bees and all) 

 and putting the one with the cells in its place. In all this work with 

 tiered-up brood, when changing the same from one hive to another I do 

 not disturb the bees on them, as bees above a queen-excluder are, to all 

 intents and purposes, queenless, so make no trouble by putting them in 

 different hives. It is best generally to put the frame having queen-cells 

 on it near the center of the hive, as this seems to give the better 

 results. 



