90 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



ing back to back. That, you will see, makes the hives in groups 

 of four. I do not know of any arrangement that will allow a 

 larger number of hives to stand on a given surface. The dif- 

 ference in the amount of travel in the course of a year in such 

 an arrangement as compared with one without any groupint!', 

 is a matter not to be despised. 



Trees shade most of the hives at least a part of the day, 

 and at one end of the home apiary the trees were so thick that 



Fig. 31 — Foundation witli splint supports. 



I cut out part of them. I had previously thought that shade 

 was important, and that with sufficient shade there was never 

 any danger of bees suffering from heat, but after having combs 

 melt down in a hive so densely shaded by trees that the sun did 

 not shine on it all day long, I changed my mind. I value the 

 shade these trees gi\e, not so much for the good it does the bees, 

 but for the comfort of the operator working at them. I don't 

 believe bees suffer as much from the hot sun shining directly on 

 the hives as they do fi-om liaviusj- the air shut off from them by 

 surrounding objects. I have had combs melt down in hives, the 



