APIARY. 



31 



door the wire cloth should extend up as 

 seen in the cut below; that is to say, it should 

 be nailed on the outside, and should extend 

 four or five inches beyond the bottom in- 

 side edge of the frame, leaving a bee-space 

 between the frame and cloth. This is to 

 allow the bees that collect in the room dur- 

 ing the time of working, as for instance 







during extracting, to escape in accordance 

 with the natural instinct that prompts them 

 to crawl upward. The window should have 

 wire cloth nailed on the outside in like man- 

 ner, the same extending al)ove the window- 

 casing as in the figure. 



A better method is that shown in the larg- 

 er cut where the edges of the wire cloth are 

 formed into bee-escapes. 



A better arrangement still, and the ex- 

 pense is but slight, is ordinary screen win- 

 dows. At two of the upper corners attach 

 Porter honey-house bee-escapes as shown 

 in the engraving in the next column. 

 This will be more reliable, as the robbers 

 can not by any possibility return through 



the Porter, while they may learn the way 

 back through the projecting screen. 



At several points, close on a line with tlie 

 floor, should be one-inch holes, on the out- 

 side of which should be more Porter honey- 

 house bee-escapes. The purpose of the open- 

 ing in these escapes is, to let the bees that 

 happen to be inside after working crawl out 

 toward the light; and, once outside, they 



APIARY. 



will enter their own hives, with the possible 

 exception of a few young ones, and they 

 will be accepted at any of the entrances. 



A few years ago it was not deemed neces- 

 sary to have anything but end-boards to 

 hold up the frames. These boards resting 

 on the floor or shelf were secured against 

 the side of the building. It remained then 

 to close ui) the open side with a tight-fitting 

 division-board, and the top with a quilt. 

 But in practice this was found to be very 



PORTER HOKEY-HOUSE BEE-ESCAPE. 



objectionable ; and those who manage 

 house-apiaries now prefer to use ordinary 

 outdoor hives instead, primarily because 

 the bees can be more easily confined to the 

 hives ; and, secondarily, because the indoor 

 and outdoor hives are one and the same, 

 and interchangeable. 



The entrances of the hives are so arrang- 

 ed that they communicate with openings 

 through the side of the building ; and then 

 ordinary covers should be used to confine 

 the bees strictly within the hives. In lieu 

 of a cover a thin f board, or something 

 of that sort, may answer just as well; but 

 so far as possible we would so construct the 

 house-apiary so that every thing outdoors 

 may be moved inside, and vice versa, when- 

 ever requirements make it necessary. The 

 dimensions of the house-apiary inside should 

 be just large enough to take a row of your 

 hives without wasting space. 



For entrances to the hives from the out- 

 side there should be a two-inch round hole, 

 lined with a tin tube that has first been 

 painted, and then dusted on the inside with 



