CHAPTER I. SITUATION OF AN APIARY.
The choice of a good situation is of the utmost consequence. An apiary will not thrive in a bad situation, however well it may be cared for in other respects.
1. The hives must, above all things, be sheltered from the wind. It is the first precept of Virgil[1]. For that purpose, the force of the wind must be broken, either by houses or by lofty trees in the vicinity. A wall, however high, or a simple hedge, is not sufficient, because the bees that fly to the fields prefer stopping in places where the air is tranquil, near bushes, or along hedges or dells, where they find a much greater abundance of honey than in places exposed to gales of wind. They fatigue themselves flying from flower to flower, and still more returning to their dwelling, after having completed their little ladenings: with a rapid flight they get over a great extent of space, frequently against the wind; but, on approaching their hive, they slacken their speed, and advance, wheeling round and round, to recognize it. A mistake, at this time, might be fatal, and cost them their lives; and if, at this moment, they encounter a strong current of air, or a whirlwind, to repel them, they are again forced to wheel round to reconnoitre their habitation. After a hard struggle, the most vigorous arrive; the others fall, without power to rise again, especially when the air is cold, or the sky clouded. The ground will then be strewed with dying or dead bees, which never happens when the hives are placed in sheltered situations.
Principio sedes apibus statioque petenda,
Quo neque sit ventis aditus (nam pabula venti
Ferre domum prohibent).
Virg. Georg. lib. iv.
2d, The second condition of a good situation is its proximity to a fountain; or, still better, to a little brook, where the bees may drink[2]. Water is absolutely necessary, and enters as much as honey into the composition of the pap with which they nourish the brood; and the pollen or dust of flowers, which they bring home on their thighs, is also a very essential ingredient in this pap. The vicinity of deep waters is very hurtful to bees; and I have sometimes seen hundreds of them drowned attempting to drink out of a cistern.