36 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE APIAET OR BEE-GARDEN. 



It is not whicli garden, but which place in the garden, 

 shall the bees occupy? Every bee-keeper consults his 

 own convenience in the choice of a spot on which to 

 place his bee-hives. Near the door, or in front of a win- 

 dow, from which the swarms can be seen, is generally 

 preferred by cottagers ; for they have not much time to 

 lose in watching for swarms leaving their hives. So far 

 as honey-gathering goes, one corner of the garden will 

 answer as well as another. It does not matter much, if 

 anything at all, whether the hives look east or west, north 

 or south. Hives placed in the centre of a wood or small 

 forest, where the rays of the sun never reach them, thrive 

 as well as those placed outside to bask in his smiles all 

 day long. 



A sheltered comer, with an open front, and at some 

 distance from ponds or sheets of water, is perhaps the 

 best possible in any neighbourhood for bees. If hives 

 are placed in an exposed and bleak situation, or near 

 sheets of water, high winds do some harm to their bees. 

 Bees with heavy loads are fatigued when they return to 

 their hives, and therefore it is desirable to let them enter 

 as safely and speedily as possible. If driven to the 

 ground by the violence of the wind, they sustain a rueful 

 shock, and have to rest a considerable time before they 

 can rise, perhaps to be driven down a second time. Still, 

 practically and experimentally considered, the advantages 

 of sheltered places are of small importance. If the pas- 

 ture of the neighbourhood be good, bees wUl do well 

 wheresoever placed. On the housetop and bleak hillside, 



