JULY 15, 1915 



585 



beeoiiu' water-soaked, replace with a new 

 set ; and by the time they are ready to throw 

 out, t-Jie old ones are dry to replace them. 

 Change the water occasionally. Fill up the 

 jiail mornings before they get to work. 



Witli a i;oo(l-sized yard you may need two 

 or three pails scattered among tiie hives. 1 

 never see a bee around my pump now, only 

 a few rods from the hives. 

 Colo, Iowa. 



AN OBSERVATORY HIVE 100 FEET FROM THE GROUND 



BY L. ESENHOWER 



[One hundred feet above tlic sidewalk in a section of a city in Pennsjlvania stands tlie "house-apiary" 

 of Mr. Esenhower. The hi>'cs are .situated inside a tank house on the roof of a high buildina;. A few years 

 ago Mr. Esenhower averag:cd 60 pounds per colony. B'urtlu-r particulars rcKardini; the apiary were given 

 in OLE.\MNbs for March 1, 1914. — Ed] 



The interesting feature of my house- 

 apiary is the observatory hive. The combs 

 are arranged vertically, one above the other, 

 in such a shaj^e as to present the largest 

 surface to view. 



Wliile 1 iiavp not gone into any scientific 



observation, this would be an excellent op- 

 portunity for so doing. Lack of time pre- 

 vents me making this observation. 



The small picture shows the cluster as it 

 api^ears in winter. 



I think the cluster is located where it is 

 on .account of the feeder being so near. 

 There have been many far more interesting 

 features developed in this hive of the hon- 

 eybee Avhich would require extended writing 

 (o put them all on paper. 



Prom the commercial standpoint it is not 

 a success. As a novelty, it answers admir- 

 able purposes. It has been viewed bj' many 

 visitoi's who liave expressed their astonish- 

 ment and admiration at so novel a contri- 

 vance. 



The combs are arranged vertically. 



The winter cluster. 



Last year the bees stored only two combs 

 above the brood. 1 intend to try a new ex- 

 jierimont this coming season, and will be 

 able to report later on. 



We did not find brood on more than three 

 combs, and this was for a short lime only, 

 probably not exceeding four weeks — that in 

 the height of the season. 



Reading, Pa. 



