122 Advanced Bee Culture 



The inability to foretell the honey-flow in any locality is the greatest 

 obstacle in the way of successful migratory bee-keeping. Local showers 

 sometimes cause a great difference in the yields of honey in localities 

 only a few miles apart ; but migratory bee-keeping does not allow us to 

 take advantage of this, as, by the time we have moved to the locality that 

 is furnishing honey, the flow there may be over, and, possibly, started up 

 in the home yard. There is nothing to be gained by changing one possi- 

 bility for another of equal value. But moving to another location which 

 promises well at a time when we kiiozv nothing will be gathered if the bees 

 are kept at home, is a far different thing. For instance, only forty miles 

 from here, nn a direct line of railroad, is a locality where it is nothing 

 unusual for lOO pounds of comb honey per colony to be secured, yet 

 nothing is in bloom here at that time. The expense of moving to and 

 from a locality no further a\\ay than this need not be so very great. From 

 thirty to forty colonies can be moved on a hay-rack; or a special rack 

 might be made which would accommodate fifty colonies. .Vn apiarist who 

 is going to practice moving his bees to secure better pasturage must have 

 hives, fixtures, and other arrangements suitable for that purpose. The 

 arrangements ought to be such that three or four minutes would be 

 sufficient for preparing a hive for moving. One of the greatest advan- 

 tages of fixed or self-spaced frames is that they need no fastening when 

 the apiary is to be moved. Of course, bees moved in hot weather must 

 have abundant ventilation ; but this alone will not save the brood if they 

 are long confined. To save the brood the bees must have plenty of water. 



Some localities are blessed with an almost continuous flow — spring 

 flowers, white clover, basswood, and fall flowers ; and, b\' the way, a man 

 who is to make a specialty of bee-keeping ought to seek such a locality ; 

 but many who are already engaged in bee-keeping are permanently located, 

 have friends and relatives living near, and prefer not to seek a new- 

 location, even if the profits would be thereby increased. Then, again, it 

 is difficult to find a first-class locality for clover and basswood that is 

 equall}' good for fall flowers ; and the better the locality the greater the 

 danger of its being overstocked by its very attractiveness bringing" together 

 so many bee-keepers. 



There is no question but that many bee-keepers can secure a bovmti- 

 ful crop of fall honey by moving their bees at the right time ; but a word 

 of caution may not be out of place right here. Some fall hone)", that from 

 aster, for instance, is sadly unfit for winter stores. So disastrous has fall 

 honey proved for winter stores, in some localities, that the bee-keepers 

 there have given up trying to winter their bees unless they substituted 

 early gathered stores, or fed sugar. I know of one bee-keeper in such 

 a locality who secured bountiful crops of fall honey from the surrounding 

 swamps, but was utterly unable to winter his bees, prepare them as he 



