980 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



cleat at the front; and the back lower cor- 

 ner rested on the bottom-board. Two fol- 

 lower boards were used, one in each end, 

 and they were held in place with two 

 wedges to each board. 



The bee-space between the top-bar of the 

 brood-frames and the bottom-bar of the sec- 

 tion-holders was all the way from an inch 

 to two inches, according to whether they 



'I'll!' bottom-bars of the frames were at ;ui angli 

 to follow the bottom-board. 



stayed on the cleat or dropped oft. And 

 the supers — such supers! Twenty-seven 

 inches from end to end, 12 inches from top 

 to bottom, and 18 from front to back, with 

 12 section-holders, each of which would 

 bold six sections. I know that they would 

 hold the sections, because I tried to get 

 some of the old ones out. Each had two 

 three-inch strips of tin nailed on one side, 

 presumably for separators; but I may have 

 been mistaken as to their use. It may have 

 been to keep the sections from coming out; 

 and if that was what they were for they 

 were a grand success. I do not wonder that 

 this old-time beekeeper was of an irascible 

 nature. 



The lumber in these old hives was soft 

 white pine, light in weight, a full inch in 

 thickness, straight-grained, and all nailed 

 with cut nails, mostly ten-penny casing. 

 Just imagine pieces of pine 24 x 26 inches 

 without a knot, and so soft that a ten-pen- 

 ny nail would not split one when driven 

 half an inch from the end ! I certainly did 

 get my $25.00 worth in working them over 

 during the winter evenings in my shop in 

 the furnace-room. I made fifty good hives 



of another and better pattern, of which I 

 have never seen a description in any book 

 or paper, although it may have been de- 

 scribed before my time. It was not an in- 

 vention of mine, but of a very successful 

 beekeeper of my acquaintance. "With his 

 permission I should like to tell about the 

 hive at a later date, as it embodies some 

 features that I think excellent, especially in 

 the super. This has no T tins nor other 

 support, but is so made that the frames are 

 self-supporting. 



Besides these fifty hives that I could not 

 buy for less than .$4.00 apiece, I have kin- 

 dling enough to last several years, all cut 

 and resined, and have so far sold nineteen 

 old hives, just as I got them, for a dollar 

 apiece, and have four more yet to sell. 



With the best of the lumber that was left 

 after building my fifty hives I then built a 

 house, or shack, ten by twenty, with a 

 ]i()rch of the same dimensions, in which I 

 live with my family of four during the 

 summer. 



I did not buy a stick of lumber, not even 

 a two-by-four which I also made by nailing 

 pieces 26 x 11 together, breaking joints, and 

 then ripping. These gave me two-by-flves 

 that I used for joist and studding. 



In the new hive the super is so made that the 

 frames are self-supporting. 



The roof and sides are made by nailing 

 the end boards and follower boards, which 

 are 12x14 (of which I had over a thou- 

 sand) to strips of the 26-inch pieces, and 

 then to the studding. The roof is sheeted 

 with these small ])ieces, and then covered 

 with regular roofing-paper, which is paint- 

 ed wilii powder paint. Tlie cost of the 



