This, in a hot dry season, is of considerable importance, as it will save that time, which must otherwise be spent, in fetching water from a distance; for without water, as will be noticed hereafter, no wax can be formed.
It is of course of the greatest importance that the apiary be situated near to good pasturage, such as clover, saintfoin, buckwheat, &c.—better still if in a garden well stocked with suitable plants.
It should be near the residence of the proprietor, as well for the purpose of rendering the bees tractable and well acquainted with the family, as for affording a good view of their general proceedings; if it be so situated that its front may form a right angle with the window of the family sitting-room, an easy opportunity will be afforded to watch the bustle of swarming.
An out-door apiary should admit of being approached at the back part, to give an opportunity of making observations on the proceedings of the bees, or to perform any requisite operation upon them.
The hives should be placed upon separate stands, supported by single posts or pedestals, be raised from sixteen inches to two feet above the ground, and be three or four feet from each other; and they should stand quite clear of any wall or fence.
The resting-boards should project several inches in front of the hives, that the bees may have plenty of room to alight, when they return home loaded from the fields, and should be screwed down firmly to the tops of the stands, that the hives may not be overturned by high winds or other accidents.
They should be free from the droppings of trees, from noisome smells and disagreeable noises; and be guarded as much as possible from the extremes of heat and cold.
Most apiarians are agreed that the aspect of the apiary should, in this country, be more or less southerly, and that it should be well secured from the north and south-west, by trees, high hedges, or other fences; this is the opinion of Wildman, Keys, and Huish; Bonner, however, prefers an easterly aspect; Huish recommends two points to the east and one to the south. Wildman preferred a south-west aspect, as not tempting the labourers to emerge too early, and as affording a later light for their return home in the evening.
“Skreen’d from the east; where no delusive dawn
Chills, while it tempts them o’er the dew damp lawn,
But, as on loaded wing, the labourers roam,
Sol’s last bright glories light them to their home.”
Evans.