ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 129 



-Aplariei 



'HEN a man starts an out-apiary it is because lie 

 thinks his home-yard overstocked; that he will get 

 enough more honey for the division to pay for the extra 

 labor incurred. Overstocking is one of the most puz- 

 zling- questions connected with bee culture. We all know that a local- 

 ity can be overstocked; but localities, seasons and bee-pasture are 

 so variable that it is impossible to lay down any set rules in regard 

 to the number of colonies needed to overstock a locality. It must 

 not be forgotten that the yield per colony, yes, and in the aggregate, 

 may be diminished to considerable extent by overstocking ere the 

 establishment of an out-apiary would be a profitable move. At times 

 of great honey flows it is probably practically impossible to over- 

 stock a locality; the overstocking occurs during the lighter yields. 

 There is occasionally a man, notably Mr. E. W. Alexander, of New 

 York, who makes a success of keeping a very large number of col- 

 onies in one apiary, by feeding during times of scarcity. Mr. 

 Alexander has secured as high as 75 pounds of extracted honey 

 per colony from 700 colonies in one yard. This question of 

 how many colonies will justify the starting of an out-apiary is one 

 that must be settled according to the circumstances of each individ- 

 ual case, and can never be decided with more than approximate 

 correctness. 



I have had no experience with out-apiaries, but I believe that the 

 majority of the inexperienced have erroneous ideas as to the difiBcul- 

 ties and expenses attending the establishing and management of out- 

 apiaries. Land must be bought or hired; some sort of a building or 

 shelter secured; and a conveyance of some kind will be needed for 

 carrying bees, tools and supplies. Then, in the Northern States, 



