1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



379 



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CO^'CllETE roU^DATIU^S lOK TWO IllVKb, MAUK W ITIKU T MOi.Ll.S UK FUKMS. 



A PRACTICAL AND EASY WAY FOR MAK- 

 ING CONCRETE HIVE FOUNDATIONS. 



BY CHARLES RIVERS. 



As there has been some discussion in re- 

 gard to cement blocks to prevent the growth 

 of grass and weeds around hives I take plea- 

 sure in sending a picture of my apiary, as I 

 have had some of the cement foundations 

 in use for the past three years. They do 

 away with all kinds of annoyances around 

 the hives; toads can not find a hiding-place, 

 and if you take a frame out of a hive and 

 stand it alongside it does not have grass, 

 weeds, and spider-webs sticking to it when 

 picked up. If you get busy, and the grass 

 gets the start of you, the bees still have a 

 clear alighting-place. 



If the bees are w- intered on summer stands, 

 and the snow is deep, it is easily cleared 

 away when there is a day warm enough for 

 bees to fly. 



I make the blocks five feet square, and 

 they are plenty large for two hives. I cut 

 away two or three inches of soil and fill in 

 witli cinders or sand, making it level from 

 side to side, and two inches higher at the 

 back than the front. I use 1% sacks of ce- 

 ment to 3 of coarse sand; mix well dry; use 

 water to make a thin mortar, and spread 

 with a mason's trowel. The block will be 

 \}4. inches thick, and will not crack if tem- 

 pered right. The best way to temper them 

 is to cover them with straw or green grass 

 after the cement begins to set, and sprinkle 

 well with w^ater once a day for five or six 

 days. 



Mendota, Mo., April 19. 



[This way of making the blocks saves ma- 

 terial and labor. The cinders should be well 

 tamped antl wet down before the concrete is 

 spread on. No forms are necessary; and as 

 soon as one place is finished, another may 

 be begun. — Ed.] 



AN IDEAL ARRANGEMENT FOR A POWER 

 EXTRACTING-OUTFIT. 



BY E. M. GIBSON. 



I enclose a picture showing a corner of 

 one of my honey-houses in which an ex- 

 tracting-outfit is located. I think the ar- 

 rangement will appeal to all who contem- 

 plate using such an outfit. It will be no- 

 ticed that the engine stands nearly as high 

 from the floor as the top of the extractor, 

 which is much more convenient to work 

 with than if it were on the floor. The por- 

 tion of the visible foundation on which the 

 engine rests is concrete; and the rest, which 

 extends to the cellar bottom, is rock. The 

 heavy iron reaching across the end of the 

 skid has a bolt through the center, which is 

 five feet long, extending down into this rock 

 foundation. There is one of these at each 

 end; and when the taps are screwed down 

 tight one can scarcely feel a tremor when 

 the engine is working. This, with the ex- 

 haust-i^ipe extending through the roof, in- 

 stead of allowing the explosion to exhaust 

 in the house with its accompanying noise 

 and gasoline smell, makes it much more 

 pleasant in the room. 



The white streak shown in the picture, 

 passing up from the idler, is a cord which is 



