62 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE APIARY OR BEE-GARDEK. 



It is not wliicli garden, but which place in the garden, 

 shall the bees occupy t Every bee-keeper consults his own 

 convenience in the choice of a spot on which to place his 

 bee-hives. Near the door, or in front of a window, from 

 which the swarms can be seen, is generally preferred by 

 cottagers, for they have not much time to lose in watching 

 for the swarms leaving their hives. So far as honey- 

 gathering goes, one corner of the garden will answer as 

 • well as another. And it does not matter much, if any- 

 thing at all, whether the hives look east or west, north or 

 south. Hives placed in the centre of a wood or small 

 forest, where the rays of the sun never reach them, thrive 

 about as well as those placed outside to bask ia his smiles 

 all day long. 



A sheltered comer, with an open space in front, and at 

 some distance from ponds or sheets of water, is perhaps 

 the best possible in any neighbourhood for bees. If hives 

 are placed in an exposed and bleak situation, or near 

 sheets of water, high wLuds do a little harm to them. 

 Bees with heavy loads are fatigued when they return to 

 their hives, and therefore it is desirable to let them enter 

 them as safely and speedily as possible. If driven to the 

 ground by the violence of the wind, they sustaia a rueful 



