MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 27 



the fourth visit although the same is pretty well mixed up with other things 

 pertaining to the developing of this plan. 



CHAPTER V. 



A SIMPLE AND RELIABLE PLAN POR MAKING INCREASE. 



Just ten days hav^e elapsed since I started on my fourth visit to the 

 out-apiary, and I am getting ready to go again; but. this time I am obliged 

 to go with the horse, on account of its raining seven days out of the ten. 

 So much rain has caused the roads to become almost impassable on account 

 of the mud ; and the almost constant rain at this time has caused the bright 

 prospects of an abundant harvest of honey from white clover, which has 

 been more plentiful than usual, to fade nearly out of sight. It does not rain 

 this morning; but it is cool and cloudy, with a fine mist in the air. Such 

 a day is not adapted to working with the bees to the best advantage ; but 

 it is necessary to go today, if I am to aiive those nice queen-cells, which 

 are of much advantage to me just at this time. After a steady splash, 

 splash, splash of the horse's feet in the mud for nearly an hour (as I can 

 not drive off a walk), we arrive at the apiary. 



Ha^fing put the horse in the farmer's bam I now proceed to place 

 nine of the reserved bottom-boards, and as many covers on as many un- 

 occupied stands, when I go to the hive having the brood from the best 

 breeding queen that had the queen-cells with the little larvae in them at the 

 last visit, and, upon examination, I very luckily find that six of the ten 

 combs have one or more fine, nearly ripe, cells on them. From one frame 

 having four cells on, and two others having five, I cut two cells from each, 

 and "graft" them into three of the frames having none, putting the frames 

 back in place again. The clouds are now "breaking" in the sky, with the 

 sun peering oceasiorially through the mist, which tells me I am to have a 

 fairly ^ood day for my work, after all — far better than I had even hoped 

 for; I now take one of the frames having queen-cells on it, together with 

 the bees on the same, and carry it to one of the hives having the tiered-up 

 brood, taking from this a frame (bees and all) and putting the one with 

 the cells in its place. In all this work with tiered-up broodj when changing 

 the same from one hive to another I do not disturb the bees on them, as bees 

 above a queen-excluder are, to all intents and purposes, queenless, so make 

 no trouble by putting them in different hives. It is best generally to put 

 the frame having queen-cells on it near the center of the hive, as it seems 

 to give the better results. 



Having the frame with queen-cells in the hive, I next take the frame 

 of brood and go back to the hive having the cells, when it is put in the 

 place left vacant there. In this way I keep on until the five colonies having 

 upper stories of brood have a frame with queen-cells on it from the best 

 breeder. 



I now take off these five prepared upper stories, setting each on one 

 of the bottom-boards previously placed where they are to stand, putting 

 on the covers and adjusting the entrance to about three inches in length. 

 The setting-off of these hives paves the way for using the other four frames 

 having queen-cells on them in four more hives of brood, following the same 



