62 The Townsend Bee Book 
on account of the lay of the ground. Furthermore a greater per 
centage of young queens were lost on returning from their mating 
flight, and the bees themselves mixed up much more. Now th 
groups may be placed five or six feet apart one way and ten o 
twelve the other. On this plan the groups are really in rows whic] 
are not straight, perhaps, but irregular, to conform to the ground 
Possibly some might think that this arrangement would not bi 
pleasing to the eye; but there is really hardly any other plan tha 
would look well on rough ground. The wheelbarrow may be rur 
between each group of hives and also between each row; and it i: 
an easy matter to load the honey very close to one of the mair 
paths leading to the extracting-house. 
In renting ground for bee-yards it is not always possible tc 
secure a desirable place to set the hives. Our Kalkaska yard, a 
shown in Gleanings, 1908, p. 1000, is located on a side hill. How. 
ever, we first made four terraces on which the rows of hives might 
be placed. Since the hill slopes to the southeast, the hives face ir 
all directions between south and east. The honey-houses were set 
about midway at the lower side. A path was made across the ter. 
races in the middle, dividing the yard in two parts. When ex. 
tracting we work from the sides of the yard toward the center in 
order to shorten the distance to the honey-house. If we set this 
house at one side of the yard it would be necessary to wheel the 
honey, or at least the greater part of it, twice as far. 
HONEY-HOUSES; A DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE HONEY- 
HOUSES IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN, AND AN OUT- 
LINE OF THE METHODS USED. 
As our yards are all located on rented ground, so that fre- 
quent moving is necessary, we build the honey-houses in sections. 
The floor is in halves; the sides and ends are separate, and bolted 
together with two bolts in each corner, and each side of the roof 
is built independently of the rest of the building so a half can be 
taken off at a time for moving. 
A 32-inch door is put in one end, without screen or glass, for 
door-screens attract the robbers so that some of them are sure to 
dodge in when the door is opened. Centrally located on both sides 
of the building, next to the plate, window-holes are cut, and cov- 
ered with wire screen nailed on the outside with lath strips to hold 
it down. These window-holes are boarded up with a framework 
which slides to one side to let in the light. Ag all the work at the 
outyards is done during warm weather, no glass is necessary. 
