640 
OUT-APIARIES 
surpassed in flavor; but as it usually crys¬ 
tallizes in a few months many dealers pre¬ 
fer to buy sage honey. It is very easy to 
obtain orange honey pure, for sage does 
not blossom until the weather is warmer. 
At Pomona the land for miles is entirely 
occupied by groves, and it is difficult to 
obtain room for an apiary. Here after the 
honey flow is over the bees bring in nothing 
for the rest of the season except a dribble 
of dark honey from pepper and hoarhound. 
Taking it all in all, the orange is the most 
dependable source in southern California. 
A large acreage in California is devoted 
to the cultivation of the lemon and grape 
fruit, but these trees do not yield nectar as 
freely as does the orange. The other citrus 
trees are not common. 
In the hope of maintaining a more even 
temperature in both summer and winter a 
six-acre lemon grove at Corona, Calif., was. 
covered with tobacco cloth, a strong kind 
of mosquito netting. This netting was 
stretched over wire, and was supported by 
posts about 16 feet tall. Two colonies of 
bees were placed in the grove and given 
sections of drawn comb; but they died out 
entirely in a few months from close con¬ 
finement and lack of pollen. The stronger 
in a short time filled 12 or 15 sections with 
lemon honey. The color of this honey was 
very light and the flavor excellent, with 
none of the tartness of the fruit. Under 
these conditions the manager estimated that 
the crop of lemons was increased fourfold. 
Unfortunately, a heavy wind wrecked the 
structure, and when removed the trees drop¬ 
ped to their previous rate of production. 
In southern California the trees are in 
bloom during the last of March and thru- 
out April, or about six weeks. The period 
of blooming varies greatly — sometimes be¬ 
ing much 'later than usual. It would be for 
the advantage of apiarists if the honey 
flow was later, for while it aids in building 
up the colonies, the latter are often not 
sufficiently strong to bring in all the nec¬ 
tar, or the cold compels them to remain in¬ 
active. With large colonies and clear warm 
weather the nectar comes in very rapidly. 
At Redlands a hive on scales showed a gain 
of 119 pounds in 17 days from April 7 
to 23. The honey was secured in about five 
hours of each day from 11 to 4 o’clock. 
During the morning the bees brought in 
pollen from various flowers, but before 
noon they were all at work on the orange 
bloom. A surplus of from 60 to 120 
pounds per colony is obtained. The nec¬ 
tar is frequently very thin when first gath¬ 
ered, and naturally after irrigation is 
thinner for a few days; but toward the end 
of the flow, if the weather is warm, it be¬ 
comes much thicker. 
OUT-APIARIES. — Within late years 
this term has been used to apply to a bee- 
yard remote or distant from the home yard 
by about two or three miles. It is a well- 
known fact, that only a limited number of 
colonies, comparatively, can be supported 
in any one locality, different places being 
able to support widely different numbers of 
colonies. 
NUMBER OF COLONIES IN AN APIARY. 
The number of colonies of bees that can 
be profitably kept in one locality is limited 
by the amount of pasturage. Of late years 
quite a number of beekeepers have estab¬ 
lished one or more out-apiaries, for the 
sake of keeping more bees than the home 
pasturage would support. Just how many 
bees can be supported in a single locality 
has probably never been ascertained, and 
it is just as probable that it never will be. 
One field may support five times as many 
as another, and the same field may support 
five times as many this year as last. Most 
beekeepers, however, think it inadvisable 
to keep more than 75 to 100 colonies in one 
apiary, while a few think their locations 
so good that 200 or more can be profitably 
kept together. As many as 500, and in one 
case even 700, have been kept in one yard. 
These cases are very rare, however, as it is 
seldom that the bee pasturage is strong 
enough to support so many. 
As a general thing, most localities will 
not support to the best advantage over 
fifty colonies to the yard. In a series of 
outyards owned by the authors it was 
found an advantage to have not more than 
50, altho there are some seasons when a 
larger number could be operated to advan¬ 
tage. 
The number of hives per apiary will de¬ 
pend very much on the amount of available 
forage for the bees. A locality that has a 
large acreage of alsike, some red clover, as 
