Or how to Realize the Most Money with the Smallest Expenditure of Capital 
and Labor in the Care of Bees, Rationally Considered. 
PVJBLISHI3D MONTI ILY. 
VOL. I. 
MEDINA, O., JULY 1, 1873. 
No. 7. 
STARTING AN APIARY. 
No. 7. 
"f ^ INI) readers all, if you have followed 
Js us thus far you are probably now 
ready for business, and to confess the 
truth, we prefer during the extracting 
season that you stand beside us and help 
us decide upon the best plan to “run" it, 
now that we have you fairly started. 
In the first place, those of you who 
have, like ourselves, been in the habit, 
until recently, of having the hives some 
distance from the extractor, liaveof course 
been accustomed to removing all of the 
combs from the hive and then taking 
them, at one load, to be emptied. Now it 
seems to make hut little difference wheth- 
er the bees be left, destitute of combs un- 
til they are returned or not, for we believe 
they always wait patiently tor them, or 
whether the set of combs from the previ- 
ous hive be given them. 
It would seem that the latter course 
would send them to the fields again soon- 
er, and we are quite certain that it makes 
no difference to them whether they have 
their own combs or those from another 
hive, and as a considerable amount of la- 
bor is saved the operator, we shall recom- 
mend the latter. 
The objections are that very soon the 
identity of any hive of bees is lost, and 
you have no particular choice stocks to 
show visitors, for all hives contain hybrids , 
or Italians, just as it happens, and there 
is some danger of throwing a quantity of 
brood and eggs under the care of a colo- 
ny too weak to supply all their wants. 
With the “hexagonal plan" of the api- 
ary each hive is so near one of the doors 
of our bee house that the work is not 
very great if two combs be taken from 
the hive, carried in to bo extracted, and 
two empty ones brought back ; when 
robbers are not troublesome this plan is 
very simple and does very well. 
The nearer our bees become pure Ital- 
ians the greater is the difficulty of remov- 
ing them from the combs, for the harder 
heavy combs are shaken the more per- 
sistently they seem to hold on, and brush- 
ing oil' a large number with our bunch of 
asparagus tops is slow business. Now 
comes the point where we want “head 
work.” If we take two combs from the 
upper story first, and shake and brush oil' 
the bees, the same ones will need to be 
“got otT' again, and still again ; which is 
a troublesome process, besides being al- 
most, too much even fer the patience <>l 
Italians. It they are shaken in front of 
the hive, as we did formerly, they arc a 
long time getting in. The thin honey is 
throwu on the ground and door-step, and 
attracts robbers, and t lie danger of losing 
the queen is greater than when they are 
shaken on the lop of the frames or direct- 
ly into the empty hive. Lifting the o p 
story oft' ami doing t lie lower one first 
partially remedies the difficulty, but No' - 
ice says although he can carry “stoves," 
etc., when necessary, he don't “hauker' 
after the job of lifting an upper story lull 
of honey and setting it down “somewhere 
carefully if it can by any means be avoid- 
ed, besides, bees that have been “well 
brought up" and behave well when han- 
dled in the ordinary manner are almost 
sure to “kick up a row” when divided in 
this unceremonious way without recourse 
he had to smoke, and we cannot think 
smoke necessary at any time during the 
honey season. 
“Well, Mr. Novice," says'T*. Cl.," “what 
would you have? It seems you can nev- 
er be satisfied." 
“I would have an extra set of combs fur 
the first hive, which should lie slid its 
length backward and a new one pvt in its 
place containing these combs. Now all 
we have to do is to shake the bees into 
this hive, and they can proceed witliwork 
at once. When all the combs are out. 
slide the hive just back of this I at the 
next trellis) back, put the empty one in 
its place and proceed as before." 
“But, Mr, N., quite a number of bees 
will remain in the empty hive, and possi- 
bly the queen ; these must be jarred oil', 
and then, when the combs arc emptied, 
they must be put somewhere. Why not 
carry the empty hive iwto the house, and 
