ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



53 



when water is added it is placed in 

 board molds to set. 



Cement Hive Covers. 



At one of our National Conventions 

 a memiber asked me to make cement 

 hive covers. Making them three-quar- 

 ters of an inch thick at*the eaves and 

 one and one-quarter in the center, thus 

 making the top side sloping. I have 

 made some. It is true, they won't 

 blow off, nor leak. No ants will live 

 under them. The objections, however, 

 are to be considered, namely: — Mo^t 

 of the year they are cold and heavy. 

 They must be handled carefully to 

 avoid breaking, and in hot summer 

 weather, they are very hot, so as to en- 

 danger melting the combs and driving 

 the bes out for air. Possibly if the 

 cement covers were painted white, 

 it might avoid the excess heat. I do 

 not like them. 



Hives in Pairs. 



I have tried different ways of plac- 

 ing hives in the apiary for convenience. 

 I like rows of hives set in pairs, the 

 next row alternating. The hive beside 

 the one I have open furnishes a nice 

 stand for tools. 



Use Salt Around the Hive Stands. 



If a handful of salt iS' placed in 

 front of each hive entrance, it will kill 

 the grass, leaving nice bare ground for 

 the bees to get in and out much easier; 

 also good chance to catch clipped 

 queens when swarming. In the brood 

 rearing season, salt should be put in 

 some water where the bees can get 

 it. If you put a handful to a gallon of 

 water in a shallow wooden dish set 

 in the sunshine in the apiary, you will 

 be surprised to see how the bees will 

 take it. 



I have been so impressed with the 

 value of salt, especially during the 

 brood rearing season, that I have 

 placed salt in one tank with water; the 

 other tank by the side of it has fresh 

 water, and I confess that there are a.^ 

 many bees after the salt water as there 

 are after the other. 



I put just enough salt in the water 

 to make it taste a little salty. 



Hive Lifters. 



A Wisconsin bee-keeper invented a 

 practical hive lifter, where one per- 

 son working alone in the apiary can 

 save much heavy lifting. It is simply 



a small hoisting derrick, wjth pulley 

 blocks of three wheels in each. 



The standard is common gas pipe, 

 with cross arm having a track on 

 under side for the upper pulley to run 

 back and forth as desired. A camp 

 chair form hooked to pulley, is lowered 

 down over the upper hive body, allow- 

 ing the form to close up around the 

 hive and by pulling lightly on the 

 pulley rope, using the hive pry and 

 smoker with the other hand at the 

 same time, the hive body with ten full 

 combs of honey is easily raised and 

 swung to one side or lowered on a 

 wheelbarrow. 



Use a Wheelbarrow. 



We think it almost a necessity, sav- 

 ing heavy handling of extracted combs 

 of honey, to use a wheelbarrow. 



Some have the apiary along side of 

 a track and use a car. We use two 

 wheelbarrows in the same apiary, thus 

 saving time and work, by exchanging 

 the heavy loaded wheelbarrow for one 

 supplied with empty combs. We also 

 want the dash at right angles with 

 bottom of wheelbarrow so that the 

 upper hive bodies will not be slipping 

 forward while wheeling. 



At one of our out apiaries this ex- 

 changing is done by placing the full 

 supers from wheelbarrow on to track 

 slanting down to uncapping box inside 

 bee-house, and when same super is 

 refilled with empty combs, it is re- 

 turned on adjoining track slanting 

 outward. This saves time and outside 

 help is not in the way in extracting 

 room. 



Have a Comb Rack. 



If possible, have the joists of your 

 beehouse just far enough apart so that 

 with narrow' strips nailed to lower 

 side of each joist, your combs will hang 

 between the joists the same as in the 

 hives. 



The combs are up out of the way 

 and safe from mice. If placed two 

 inches apart, it is very seldom ai^y 

 wax moths will bother such combs, 

 unless they are old, with pollen in 

 them, and are hung in the dark. 



Where your joists are not proper 

 distance apart, then make racks 

 against the inside wall of your comb 

 room. 



In such a rack we keep over winter 

 full super combs for spring feeders. 



