12 MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 



binder the bees' flight before my next visit, and I am off for home. The 

 \^■ork partj, as given here, is what I did at the third \'isit. 



CHAPTER IV. 



HOW TO CONTBOL SWARMS WHEN RUNNING FOR COMB HONEY. 



It is now the 16th of June; many heads on the white clover are fully 

 in bloom, while the black locust, from which the bees obtained quite a little 

 honey, has just gone, and two of my beekeeping neighbors report "swarm- 

 ing commenced." Half-pdst three o'clock a. m. finds me in my auto, 

 with the scythe done up in a blanket (to keep it from cutting and mamng 

 something it was not intended for), occupying the "other seat." Those 

 who have never ridden in an auto at the "peep o' day" can not even imag- 

 ine my delight that morning. Birds were singing from every branch, the 

 barnyard fowls were out after the "early worm," while now and then the 

 smoke from the chimney of an enterprising farmer was rising up in 

 wavy circles as it ascended toward heaven. The eastern sky soon became all 

 aglow with its "gold and carmine," telling of the advancing sun, while the 

 cattle and sheep on a "thousand hills" were securing their morning repast 

 from the grass made so pleasant and palatable from the "dew of the morn- 

 ing." When Hearing the apiary, a jolly, fun-loving farmer, who had "just 

 I)ulled out" for his cows, accosted me, while pointing at the wrapped-up 

 scythe, with "Taking the sick one in your ambulance to the hospital?" 

 "Yes," I replied, without stopping, as every moment was precious, if I was 

 to get the bee-yard mown before the bees got "waked up" by the rising sun. 



Arriving, the scythe was hastily unwrapped, and, going to the front 

 or south side of row No. 1 (hives face south, rows run east and west), I 

 begin at the east end and mow a swath toward the west, allowing the 

 "pointing in" to come as near each hive as is possible without_hitting any 

 of them. By thus mowing, the swath of grass is carried out and away from 

 the entrances to the hives so the bees need not be disturbed when I come to 

 the raking-up part, later on. Arriving at the west side of the yard, I 

 ("luickly go back to the east or "beginning" end, and mow through again, 

 immediately in front of row No. 2; but instead of coming back "empty," 

 as before, I mow back at the rear of the hives on row No. 1, cutting' as 

 close to the backs of the hives as is possible without hitting them enough to 

 distui-b the bees materially. In this way the double swath of grass is left 

 in the center, between the first and second rows of hives. 



I now begin in front of row No. 3, coming Ijaok at the rear of No. 2. 

 Next, I go to the west end of No. 3 and mow at its rear, turning the swath 

 away from the rear of the hives against the fence at the rear of the apiary, 

 the same as I turned the first swath away from the entrances or fronts of 

 the hives, against the fence in front of the apiary. I now go to row No. 1 

 and cut the grass between hive No. 1 and hive No. 2, and soon till the grass 

 is cut between all the hi\es in each row. 



After years of practice and experimenting, this is the best and quick- 

 est way to cut the grass in any bee-yard laid out in rows, that I know of; 

 and, after a little practice, very little grass will be left about any hive to 

 cut with a knife, shears, or sickle. Upon reading the above when published 



