40 



MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 



clover nectar at my last visit yet the number of bees going into and out 

 of the entrances to the hives has lessened somewhat, owing to the death by 

 old age of quite a number of the bees which were on the stage of action at 

 the time the colonies were "swarmed," while, as yet, none of the emerging 

 bees are quite old enough to become field-workers.^ 



The first work is to look after these 13 colonies, so that, should 

 there be any supers ready to come of£, they can be put on escaperboards 

 the first thing, this giving the bees time to leave the sections so these filled 

 supers can be carried home with me. I find that each one of the 13 has 

 one super fully completed, ready to take off; and several of them have 

 a second super nearly so; but as I wish to take off no sections not fully 

 sealed over, at this time in the white-honey harvest, these nearly filled 



DOOLITTLE'S SCHEME OF USING A WHEELBARROW TO SAVE HEAVY LIFTING. 



supers are allowed to remain on the hive. The taking-off at this time is 

 done thus: 



I put on the wheelbarrow (every apiary should have a wheelbarrow 

 ready for use at a moment's notice) an empty hive, and beside it I put an 

 escape-board, and on this escape-board a super of sections filled with 

 foundation. The wheelbarrow is now brought up close to one of these 

 colonies that has a super ready to come off, when the supers which are not 



^ The bees were shaken on June 16. No brood conld have emerged in these colo- 

 nies before July 7 — three days before this visit. These young bees did not become 

 field-workers until after the middle of July — too late to be of much use before the 

 close of the white honey harvest. These shaken colonies become weaker every day 

 for three weeks after shaking, while the tiered-up hives of emerging brood became 

 abnormally strong. More honey could have been secured in the sections by returning 

 a part of the emerging bees to the shaken colonies, but probably not as much honey 

 would have been stored in the tiered-up hives for reserve stores, and the new colo- 

 pies formed for increase wonM not have been as well supplied with honey at the close of 

 the basswood honey flow. When increase is not desired, the shaken colonies should be 

 strengthened by young bees from the emerging brood, as described in note on page 22. 



