276 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' IcEVlEW 



rabbet in whi.";h the top bars hang-, 

 and tie the top of the sides, so that 

 there is no spreading- there, unlike 

 most makes of dove tailed hives, which 

 soon gap at the upper corners, and all 

 too often the strip left by the cutting- of 

 the rabbet becomes broken up. 



Any cheap boards can be worked up 

 in this way, if you have no other work 

 which will pay you better. Use long, 

 cement-coated box-nails, and paint 

 your hives well. If new lumber is to 

 be boug-ht, just five feet are needed for 

 a 10-frame body, and, by nailing- the 

 cleats >^ X 2 X 16 across the top of the 

 ends, and tying- the lower corners with 

 the strips of galvanized iron, you have 

 a hive that will compare favorably 

 in usefulness and durability, with any 

 factory-made hive. 



Of course your lids must be cut one- 

 inch longer than usual, if you use 



cleats which project below. If you 

 have factory-made lids on hand, just 

 dress off the part of one of the end- 

 cleats which projects below. 



If you have a power circular saw 

 and outfit, better halve the corners of 

 your hives, for there is an advantage 

 in strong hives, for supers do not sit 

 in the yard 3'ear after year, but are 

 handled so much that corners may 

 open more or less. Halving prevents 

 this, and, next best, is our plan des- 

 cribed above. 



This latter plan has the advantage 

 that any one who can saw a board off 

 true and square, can easily make his 

 own hive-bodies. 



But to use hives and supers with 

 plain box-joints, not re-inforced in any 

 way, would not suit me at all. 



Mkriden, Idaho, Nov. 13, 1905. 



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I Have Bought the Cavanagh bees 

 that were in the Northern Michigan 

 apiaries. There were 250 colonies, 

 about 400 ten-frame supers of surplus 

 combs, four extractors, tanks, tools, 

 etc. I paid an even $1,000 for the 

 outfit. 



Preparing Bees for Winter ought to 

 now be the order of the day, providing 

 any preparation is needed. Lack of 

 stores, weak colonies, and old or poor 

 queens are the main points that need 

 correcting. Unite the weak colonies, 

 supersede the poor queens, and feed 

 when it is needed — don't put it off 

 until cold weather. Don't get the idea 

 that wintering is going to rectify any 

 of these short comings. Some people 

 have an idea that poor or unripe fruit 

 is all right to can. It isn't. Canning 

 does not change its character. It's the 



sarne with a colony of bees. If j'ou ex- 

 pect it to be a good colony in the 

 spring, it must be good noiv — have 

 plent_y of bees and plenty oi good stores, 

 and a good, prolific queen. Such a 

 colony kept through the cold weather 

 in a warm cellar, say 45 degrees, is 

 almost certain to be a good colony next 

 spring. Now is the time to lay the 

 foundation for next year's honey 

 crop. 



Thoroughly Ripened Honey is, I fear, 

 something that even some bee-keepers 

 have never tasted. I will admit that I 

 have never tasted such fine fiavored, 

 perfect, extracted honey as that that I 

 have produced this year. Even old 

 bee-keepers who come here, and are 

 given a taste, exclaim "Well, I never 

 tasted honey quite the equal of that !" 

 One man who had practiced extracting 

 as soon as the bees beg-in to seal the 



