lo June, 1912.] Bee-keeping in Victoria. 35S 



BEE-KEEPING IN VICTORIA. 



{Coiiliiiued from page 228.) 



By F. R. BciiJiiie, Bee Expert. 



v.— HIVE FLOORS AND COVERS. 



Floors. 

 The hive stand generally sold by manufacturers and dealers consists 

 of a single board 22 inches long, i3|- inches wide, and |-inch thick, nailed 

 or; to a piece of 3in. x 2in. at each end, as shown in Fig. 5 of the previous 

 article. On the top of this board, along two sides are nailed strips of wood 

 19^ inches long, ^-inch wide, and 5-16-inch in thickness. A piece of like 

 dimensions, but only 13^ inches long, is nailed across one end. These 

 three cleats raise the hive body 5-16-inch, and- form a bee-space bet\yeen 

 the bottom bars of the frames and the hive-stand, and, at the same time, 

 constitute the entrance to the hive. This entrance is i2jin. x 5-16-in., and 

 may be contracted in winter by blocking it for one-half or two-thirds with 

 pieces of ^in. x 5-i6in. wood. It is not advisable to have entrances larger 

 than 5-16-inch., as mice may enter and destroy any combs not occupied by 

 bees. This hive stand is fairly satisfactory, but rather expensive. The 

 projection, which serves as an alighting board at the entrance, is also a 

 somewhat objectionable feature, as it prevents close packing of hives in 

 shifting colonies by road or rail. 



A hive stand can be made of half the weight, and at only two-thirds 

 the cost, by substituting \-m. x 6-in. white Baltic lining boards for the 

 J-in. shelving, and a frame of |-in. x 6-in. white Baltic flooring for the 

 pieces of 3in. x 2in. This frame should be made the length and width of 

 the hive, and 2 inches high, the lining boards being nailed on top, and 

 the three cleats on top again. A detachable alighting board, sloping down 

 to the level of the ground, takes the place of the projection. This stand 

 rests on the ground all round, and the exclusion of draught underneath 

 compensates for less thickness of the floor. If pressed down tight on to 

 levelled ground, it affords no harbor for spiders and other vermin, nor a 

 hiding place for queens (where queens are clipped) at swarming time. 



In some districts, particularly in forest country, trouble occurs with 

 hive stands, and even hives, through white ants entering the wood of the 

 stand where it touches the ground, and destroying it, and unless checked, 

 eventually the hive. At a trifling expense in the first instance, this risk 

 may be entirely avoided, by saturating those pieces of the stands which 

 come into contact with the ground with a solution of sulphate of Copper, 

 generally known as Bluestone. In a box i-inch longer, inside, than the 

 longest pieces to be treated, and made water-tight by running boiling wax 

 over all the joints, dissolve sufficient Bluestone in water to make a saturated 

 solution, so that in about a day, with occasional stirring, .some of the cry- 

 stals remain undissolved. The wood to be saturated should be thoroughly 

 dry, and be packed into the box of solution, with bits of stick between 

 the pieces to keep them apart, and a weight on the top to keep them under. 

 Immersion for 24 hours will be sufficient, when the wood mav be exposed- 

 to air and sun to dry. After the stands are made up the pieces impregnated 

 should be painted or tarred to prevent the bluestone being soaked out by 

 rain water. 



