shut in too long. Of course a good Bee-keeper would pack his bees 
up for shipping so they would not suffer for a reasonable time, but 
in these days no one can estimate the length of time it will take an 
article to reach its destination. If on the other hand you buy your 
bees from a near neighbor, you will loose half of those you buy, for 
bees are like homing pigeons and all the old ones will return home. 
About three miles radius is the average range of the bees, but they 
can go a greater distance. Three miles away is far enough to purchase 
bees safely. Then when they are Hberated the surroundings even 
when the bees are high in the air are so changed, that they will mark 
their new location carefully before flying out to the fields, and thus 
return to their new home. If bought from a very near neighbor, or 
moved a short distance, the general surroundings are so famihar that 
the old bees, with the cares of the hive on their shoulders, and the 
instinct of labor inherited for so many thousands of years, fly out to 
work, mount in the air and seeing trees, mountains, or streams as 
the case may be, much as usual fail to note the short distance the hive 
has been moved. They gather their loads in distant fields and fly 
home, only to find the spot where their hive stood, vacant, and bare. 
Then the poor bees gather disconsolately at the spot, and if there is 
no hive at hand they perish. If there is a hive very close at hand 
and the bees have nectar they will go to this hive in safety. If it 
happens to be a time of dearth, or the end of a honey flow, and they 
come empty handed to a strange hive, they will be killed by the senti- 
nel bees. 
For the reason that bees are difi&cult to move you must consider 
carefully where your hive is to be placed. If you have a number of 
places to choose from, find the spot where the hive will be sheltered 
from the prevaiUng winter winds. Place it facing south with the ground 
sloping away from it and with woods, hedge, or stone wall in the rear 
as wind break; but first consider whether this place, so suitable for the 
bees, is going to interfere with your children, your neighbors, your 
garden, your am'mals or the public highway. If your bees are going 
to interfere with any of the above, do not hesitate to place them 
elsewhere, as it will be easier than placing them first and moving them 
later. An artificial wind break of boards or corn stalks can be made 
for hives which are placed in exposed positions. It is of course only 
necessary to have a wind break in cold weather. 
If the yard of the prospective beekeeper is too small for the hive, 
the children, and the clothes hne, place the hive on the roof of the 
garage or house. This will ehminate contentions, one of the greatest 
difl&culties of bee-keeping at close quarters. One of Solon's laws, 
made in the sixth century B. C, dealt with the placing of hiyes. It 
