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Texas Department of Agriculture. 



WATER FOR BEES. 



It is most important to have water in easy access of the apiary ; first, 

 because bees need a great deal of water, especially during the brood- 

 rearing season, and, second, it is advisable to keep them from water- 

 ing at neighboring troughs, springs or wells, where people are not 

 accustomed to their presence, and may, therefore, be annoyed by them. 

 They prefer natural watering places, and a stream, lake or pasture 

 tank, are good places near which to locate an apiary. Where such a 

 situation is not available, water must be provided for them in the 

 apiary by means of a trough, in which a float, to prevent drowning of 

 bees, is placed ; or water can be provided in some other way. 



LOCATING GUT-APIAEIES. 



Since the amount of pasturage in a locality determines how many 

 colonies can be kept in an apiary, it follows that, after the region is 

 stocked to the limit, a new location must be sought for colonies above 

 the number that can be supported with profit. The new apiaries es- 

 tablished under these circumstances are called out-apiaries. The num- 

 ber of them may vary from one to a dozen, or more, according to the 

 colonies owned. The question as to how many colonies may be kept 

 in a certain site can only be answered by the beekeeper himself in the 

 light of his experience, and after studying all the factors involved. 

 Since conditions vary, with regard to such changes, in different parts 

 of Texas, no set rule, as to the proper number, can be given. While 

 a good location will support 100 or more colonies, another, only a few 

 miles away, may be fitted to only one half that number. In most 

 Southwest Texas localities 100 colonies is considered near the proper 

 number, while it has been found that better results have been obtained 

 with only 50 colonies in a place, as localities farther northward are 

 reached. It has also been determined that, in localities where 100 col- 

 onies in one place will do well, they would do better if ony 50 were 



A large Southwest Texas apiary. 



