Location Of The Apriary

In choosing a section in which to keep bees on an extensive scale it is essential that the resources of the country be known. Beekeeping is more or less profitable in almost all parts of the United States, but it is not profitable to practice extensive bee keeping in localities where the plants do not yield nectar in large quantities. A man who desires to make honey production his business may find that it does not pay to increase the apiaries in his present location. It may be better to move to another part of the country where nectar is more abundant.

The location of the hives is a matter of considerable importance. As a rule it is better for hives to face away from the prevailing wind and to be protected from high winds. In the North, a south slope is desirable. It is advisable for hives to be so placed that the sun will strike them early in the morning, so that the bees become active early in the day, and thus gain an advantage by getting the first supply of nectar. It is also advantageous to have the hives shaded during the hottest part of the day, so that the bees will not hang-out in front of the hive instead of working. They should be so placed that the bees will not prove a nuisance to passers-by or disturb live stock. This latter precaution may save the bee keeper considerable trouble, for bees sometimes prove dangerous, especially to horses. Bees are also sometimes annoying in the early spring, for on their first flights they sometimes spot clothes hung out to dry. This may be remedied by having the apiary some distance from the clothes-drying yard, or by removing the bees from the cellars on days when no clothes are to be hung out.

The plot on which the hives are placed should be kept free from weeds, especially in front of the entrances. The grass may be cut with a lawn mower, but it will often be found more convenient and as efficient to pasture one or more head of sheep in the apiary inclosure.

The hives should be far enough apart to permit of free manipulation. If hives are too close together there is danger of bees entering the wrong hive on returning, especially in the spring.

These conditions, which may be considered as ideal, need not all be followed. When necessary, bees may be kept on housetops, in the back part of city lots, in the woods, or in many other places where the ideal conditions are not found. As a matter of fact, few apiaries are perfectly located; nevertheless, the location should be carefully planned, especially when a large number of colonies are kept primarily for profit.

As a rule, it is not considered best to keep more than 100 colonies in one apiary, and apiaries should be at least 2 miles apart. There are so many factors to be considered, however, that no general rule can be laid down. The only way to learn how many colonies any given locality will sustain is to study the honey flora and the record of that place until the bee keeper can decide for himself the best number to be kept and where they shall be placed.

The experience of a relatively small number of good bee keepers in keeping unusually large apiaries indicates that the capabilities of the average locality are usually underestimated. The determination of the size of extensive apiaries is worthy of considerable study, for it is obviously desirable to keep bees in as few places as possible, to save time in going to them and also expense in duplicated apparatus. To the majority of bee keepers this problem is not important, for most persons keep but a small number of colonies. This is perhaps a misfortune to the industry as a whole, for with fewer apiaries of larger size under the management of careful, trained bee keepers the honey production of the country would be marvelously increased. For this reason, professional bee keepers are not favorably inclined to the making of thousands of amateurs, who often spoil the location for the honey producer and more often spoil his market by the injudicious selling of honey for less than it is worth or by putting an inferior article on the market.