THE APIARY. 
363 
capitally, and I feel certain, although I have never 
tried it, that a flat exit tube of perforated zinc 
[pz y C) at the upper part of the sash would be a 
great advantage. The weight of the tube, if it be 
fixed at would hold it against the glass, and no 
rain would be carried inwards. The forms B and C 
have the advantage of being automatic, but the 
constant draught will sometimes be a nuisance, when 
wooden slips may be temporarily Inserted in the 
openings (<?,<?). This precaution must always be taken 
before liberating queens from boxes in which they 
have travelled. 
In this country, the hives are almost always placed 
on detached stands in the open; and if in more rows 
than one, the quincunx order is most suitable, i,e.y the 
hives of one row are opposite to the spaces between the 
hives of the next. This gives the bees a less interrupted 
flight-line, and saves the operator from the annoyance 
of standing in front of any stock. In planning an apiary, 
it is by no means necessary that the hives should face 
the south or south-east, as some say — the well-being 
of the colony being, apparently, so little affected by 
this, that authorities may be found pleading for the 
advantages of each point of the compass ; and 
where hives are somewhat crowded, placing the alight- 
ing-boards in different directions considerably reduces 
the difficulties arising from excessive proximity. Thus, 
if four hives be placed in a close line, running from 
east to west, and face, in the sequence, east, south, 
north, west, flying queens would not be endangered, 
and the bees would be hardly likely to grow too 
familiar — a common cause, unhappily, of quarrel. 
