THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



273 



I'lion tlie coxer is placed on and fas- 

 tened with liooks \o keep it from blow- 

 ing- off, as it is li.nht. hein"' made of the 

 same material as the sides ( ' _• in. 

 thick), and covered with jiaper. The 

 cover does not 'it tight on the ends, 

 as I want the air to circnlate freel\' 

 over the chaff. 



The reason for having tlie two pieces 

 of burlap wider than the box, and 

 enough longer to lap in the middle, is 

 th.at when making an examination at 

 any time, it can be taken by the four 

 corners, and lifted off, chaff and all. 

 In the picture shown, this cloth is on 

 the ground near the back side of the 

 box which was removed to show hives 

 in position and paper that was folded 

 over the hives and around the sides. 



UNPACKING. 



When unpacking in the spring, the 

 Inirlap holding the chaff is lifted out 

 and placed to one side. The hives are 

 then lifted out and placed in front in 



the same order that they were in the 

 box. In lifting out two hooks are used, 

 made of ■% in. round iron, having a 

 hook at one end and bent round for 

 a handle at the other. They are a little 

 longer than the heighth of the hive 

 and bottom-board. 



As soon as a box is emptied, it is 

 loaded on the cart and drawn to the 

 shade of some tree, and the chaff shov- 

 eled into it until full, and then another 

 is placed b\- its side and so on until all 

 are unpacked. The boxes and covers 

 not needed to protect the chaff are 

 taken down and all covered with one 

 of the covers used in the winter, and 

 there they stay until needed again in 

 the fall. 



PAPER AtAKES POOR WINTER COVERING. 



I have tried covering the tops of the 

 hives with paper, using various kinds, 

 but have discarded it as it does not 

 allow the moisture to escape. I tried 

 it until I was satisfied that the bees 



The way J. A. Sproat's packing cases look when ready for winter. 



