Excerpt from The Journal of the Department of Agriculture of Victoria, Australia, 1912, Vol. 10Having decided upon the locality, the spot upon which the hives are to be set out should be selected, with due regard to its suitability for the bees and convenience of working the apiary.An even, gently sloping surface, of gravelly or sandy soil, will be found most suitable. It should, if possible, be sheltered by a natural or artificial breakwind on the south and west. A slope to the north or east is prefer able to one to the south or west.The honey-house should be placed at the lower end, and the hives arranged in such a way that a good general view can be obtained from the door and windows of the building, so that during the swarming season the apiary may be under observation while necessary indoor work is being done. Having the building at the lower end of the ground has the double advantage of getting a better view of the whole apiary and of moving the supers of heavy honeycombs down hill at extracting time.It is not advisable to stand hives under evergreen trees, such as pines or eucalypts.

Colonies in permanently shaded positions never thrive so well as others out in the open. If placed under deciduous trees, as for instance in an orchard, the hives will have shade during the hottest part of the day in summer, and sunshine during the cold months of the year when the trees are not in leaf.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition.

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