THE HONEY-BEE. 161 



Covered apiaries, or bee-houses, are common m 

 Kngland, and are sometimes, though rarely, met with 

 in Scotland ; they have their advantages, but are 

 not without serious drawbacks. They afford shel- 

 ter from the extremes of heat and cold, and, when 

 properly constructed, are also a complete protec- 

 tion, from thieves. But when the number of hives 

 is great, the expense of such structures is so con- 

 siderable as to preclude entirely their being brought 

 into common use. Besides, their confined limits 

 render it necessary to place the hives quite close to 

 one another an arrangement which we have already 

 noticed as a great evil. And, finally, in operating 

 experimentally on any particular hive, the whole 

 colony is apt to take the alarm, and to cause a degree 

 of confusion most inconvenient to the operator. 

 There are covered apiaries sometimes to be met with, 

 the superior construction of which precludes these 

 evils ; but a much greater number have fallen under 

 our observation where the cheapness of the erection 

 has interfered materially with their completeness 

 and utility. The disadvantages above specified may 

 all be avoided in open apiaries ; while in these last, 

 also, all the advantages for which the former are pre- 

 ferred, are, we are persuaded, perfectly attainable. 

 A good thick coat of oat or rye-straw, if the hives 

 be of that material ; or, if of timber, a well-seasoned 

 and painted surtout of fir-plank, three-fourths of an 

 inch in thickness, resting on the floor-board, and hav 

 ing a vacant space of an inch between it and thf hfoe, 

 will be quite sufficient security against the extremes 

 of heat and cold, 



