eral location the site for the apiary may be chosen. The hives 

 should be situated so that they will get the morning sun. They 

 should be arranged on good stands several inches off the ground 

 so that the soil will have a chance to dry under them and also as 

 a protection against ants. Shelter should be provided so that the 

 hives will not be in the direct rays of the sun during the middle 

 of the day. The early morning and late afternoon sun does not 

 heat the hives overmuch. On coffee plantations during the crop 

 labor is usually short so all work with the bees has to be done in 

 the afternoon when it is raining. In such cases it is very neces- 

 sary that the hives are under a shelter. On most estates there 

 are old buildings or sheds not in use that may be devoted to bees, 

 if not, sheds may be made, thatching the roof with grass, cane 

 tops, or yaguas (leaves) of the royal palm. 



If hives are left in the open they should be covered with 

 sheets of tin or yaguas. The apiary should not, be too near public 

 highways or dwellings, as bees sometimes become a nuisance to 

 the neighborhood, but they should be near enough to the keeper's 

 house to enable him to hear them when they swarm. 



APPARATUS. 



HIVE STANDS. 



In all countries it is advisable to have the hives raised from 

 the ground, but in the Tropics it is particularly necessary on 

 account of the excessive rains during certain parts of the year. 

 Stands may be made of boards, brick, or stone, so arranged as to 

 make a good firm foundation which cannot easily be upset. Some 

 bee-keepers on the island have made stands of cement and rock, 

 making a solid bed large enough for two colonies. These solid 

 stands are especially good where ants are troublesome. 



HIVES. 



All parts of the hive including the cover, bottom-board, supers, 

 frames, and division boards, should be made of the best well-season- 

 ed wood. There are a number of hives on the market, but the 

 standard hive for extracted honey has ten frames and is con- 

 sidered by bee-keepers to be superior to the eight- frame hive 

 especially in the Tropics. They allow the queen to produce more 

 brood and at the same time, when the flow of honey is at its 

 height, the brood chamber is not filled with honey so that the 

 queen is cramped and the bees develop the swarming fever. 



Supers are used for the storing of surplus honey and are of 

 the same basal dimensions as the hive body on which they are to 

 fit. The number of supers used depends on the length of the 

 honey fiow. It is the general practice to space the frames so 

 that each super will contain nine frames. When nine frames are 

 used in a super the bees make thicker comb than when ten frames 

 are used. The thicker combs are much more easily uncapped, as 

 the honey extends beyond the sides of the frames. 



Supers are placed on the hives when the brood chamber is full 



