40 ARRANGEMENT OF THE APIARY 
bottom for incoming bees to run up on. Four round bottles are 
sometimes used, one under each corner of the hive with the neck 
pressed into the ground. In dry weather this does very well, 
but in wet weather one corner or another is likely to settle, with 
the result that the apiarist must frequently go to the trouble of 
levelling them up. 
If the apiary is placed in a permanent position, so that one 
Fig. 22.—A tub of water covered with chipped cork makes a safe watering place. 
does not need to consider the necessity of moving, concrete hive 
stands are, perhaps, the most satisfactory (Fig. 21). They are 
a little more expensive to begin with, but they are permanent, and 
once properly placed will remain in position indefinitely. They 
should be so placed as to leave the hive exactly level sidewise, 
but with the entrance slightly lower than the back to permit 
surplus moisture to run off readily. The concrete should extend 
several inches in front of the hive to prevent vegetation from 
growing too close to the entrance. If colonies are wintered out 
