ADVANCED BEE-CULTURE. 



71 



up an apiary there. As J. A. Green said, 

 in the October Review, for 1890, "To 

 make money with out-apiaries it is not 

 enough to measure off the proper dis- 

 tance from the home-apiary in any di- 

 rection and plant an apiary there, think- 

 ing the bees will do just as well as any- 

 where else. Modern apiculture must do 

 more than that. I cannot escape from 

 the conviction that, to make the most of 

 an apiary, it must be capable of being 

 easily and quickly moved at any time 

 during the working season." 



When it is finally decided to start an 

 apiary, how far away shall it be located ? 

 We have been repeatedly told that, or- 

 dinarily, three miles mark the limits of a 

 bee's foraging grounds, hence, if apiaries 

 were placed six miles apart, there would 

 be no encroachment. But it must be re- 

 membered that the pasture ground of 

 each apiary is somewhat circular in form, 

 and that they might be moved towards 

 each other to considerable extent with- 

 out one encroaching upon the other very 

 much. Dr. Miller has given a very 

 happy illustration. Lay two silver dol- 

 lars side by side. Lift the edge of one 

 and slide it over the other. Notice how 

 far it may be pushed over without cover- 

 ing a very large portion of the other dol- 

 lar. Notwithstanding all this, those who 

 have had experienee in the matter are 

 not inclined to put out-apiaries nearer 

 together than four miles, and prefer to 

 have them five or even six miles apart. 

 When the team is "hitched up" and on 

 the road, a mile or two more travel does 

 not take so very much time, and the in- 

 creased yield may more than make it up. 

 We cannot always secure the exact spot 

 desired for the establishing of an out- 

 apiary, and it would probably be well to 



go a little farther than really necessary 

 rather than to crowd some other apiary. 



Having decided upon a site for an out- 

 apiary, the next consideration is its man- 

 agement. Shall comb honey be raised, 

 or shall the honey 'be taken in the ex- 

 tracted form ? Shall the apiary be man- 

 aged upon the visiting plan, or shall a 

 man be kept there all the time during the 

 swarming season ? I believe that, in the 

 majority of cases, extracted honey is 

 raised in out-apiaries, as, by this plan, 

 swarming can be so nearly controlled, 

 and the apiary visited only at intervals. 



In raising comb honey, the difficulty 

 is that most of the colonies will swarm, 

 unless the queens are removed. Mr. 

 Manum, Mr. Elwood, Mr. France and a 

 few others practice removing the queens 

 just at the beginning of the swarming 

 season, and pronounce it a success. 



I have, as yet, said nothing about the 

 number of colonies to put in an out- 

 apiary. It ought to have as many as the 

 location will bear; certainly enough to 

 make a day's work at each visit during 

 the busy season. It would be unprofit- 

 able to drive off five or six miles to do 

 only a part of a day's work. Where all 

 necessary tools, etc. , are kept at the out- 

 apiary, and all the bee-keeper has to 

 carry is himself, a bicycle is a very ex- 

 cellent kind of conveyance. It is fast, 

 always ready, requires little care, and 

 stings don't make it run away. If 

 the apiaries are in or near towns con- 

 nected by railroad, it is a great conven- 

 ience. 



Instead of having any buildings at the 

 out-apiaries, some bee-keepers use a small 

 tent that is easily "struck" and carried 

 from one apiary to another. 



