32 



A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT- APIARY 



mouth often "waters" for such, and the eagerness of consumers for 

 the same makes it very profitable for market. When it is thought de- 

 sirable to use this late plan of shaking, colonies can be formed by the 

 plans given, which will care for the brood, and if desired they can be 

 wintered over to take the place of any that may die during the winter. 

 Then if none die they can be united with others, so that the number 

 may be kept at the thirty, fifty, or seventy-five, decided upon when the 

 yard was laid out. 



A HIVE PKEPAEED ON THE DOOLITTLE PLAN. 



Occasionally there will come an extremely bad season for the bees, 

 like that of 1907, when it kept cold and rainy nearly every day up to 

 the first of June, and it seemed almost impossible to have any colonies 

 strong enough to take advantage of the white-clover bloom when it 

 came. Of course, in such seasons the bloom will be somewhat delayed; 

 but as most of our grasses thrive quite well under cool wet weather, 

 this bloom is not delayed to nearly the extent that the brood in the 

 hives will be; therefore, if we are to secure any section honey at all 

 during these very bad years we must work on the retrenching plan 

 rather than on one of expansion. At the time for putting on the 

 upper stories of combs partly filled with honey in the season of 1907 

 there was not a single hive that had brood in eight combs, while the 



