1018 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



BEE=HIVE SHEDS. 



Advantages of such an Arrangement over the Open 

 Apiary; is it not Cheaper? 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



Whenever you have illustrated the shed 

 used by many bee-keepers I have always 

 strained my eyes to see if it was possible 

 for me to g'ain or glean a new improvement, 

 but mostly without avail. Your Arizona 

 sketches show the apiarists out there in 

 that hot country appreciate shade for bees 

 and hives at its true value; but, having- no 

 rain to contend with, their shelters are got 

 upon a cheap rough-and-ready plan. Some 

 Californians, too, use sheds, evidently with 

 good results. Cuba uses the thatch shed 

 very largely; but it would seem a some- 

 what dangerous edifice, as incendiarism 

 is all too common in some West-Indian is- 

 lands. For really neat and attractive sheds 

 we have to look to Europe, though the one 

 illustrated in Gleanings, belonging to Mr. 

 Jenkins, of Wetumpka, Ala., is neatness 

 itself, and there are probably more such in 

 the United States; in fact, I know of sever- 

 al myself. 



It does not seem to me, however, that some 

 bee-fanciers have caught on to all the ad- 

 vantages of a proper bee-shed, whi^e others 

 probably dismiss it altogether as too expen- 

 sive to be considered. 



Very few practical bee-keepers now-a- 

 days will dispute the value of shade for 

 bees, though there are some who do; but 

 they are mostlj' situated far north where 

 old Sol is not so fierce. 



There are not so many who realize the 

 ■value of a shed as a protection from the 

 wet; but hives will last a great deal longer 

 under a cover of some sort— indeed, it is 

 quite unnecessary to paint them. In point 

 of fact, it would be a waste of money to do 

 so. How many stop to consider the value 

 of shade to the apiarist himself? How 

 much pleasanter it is to work under a cover 

 in the broiling daj's of summer, just when 

 the good bee-master is at his busiest! With 

 a shed, the tropical bee-master is indepen- 

 dent of the services of that master of the 

 tropics, the black-skinned man. Under a 

 shed the hives are closer together than in 

 the open — a great labor-saving invention, 

 though, and is objected to by many. Not 

 only that, but a shed is cheaper in many 

 ways. For my part I believe an apiary in 

 the open costs more; for in a shed, shade- 

 boards, paint, and bottom-boards are un- 

 necessary, to say nothing of the added years 

 the hives will last under a shed. 



So far as I have noted in j'our illustra- 

 tions, none have adopted the no- bottom- board 

 idea; but it can be done very nicely by sim- 

 ply making a shelf for the hives to rest on, 

 tacking down the requisite strips to raise 

 the hives the necessary space so as to pro- 

 vide an entrance, usually half-inch strips, 

 Now that hive material is kiting up in price, 

 this is worth considering. A further re- 

 duction can be made in the hives by using 

 thinner material, yi inch instead of %. 

 The top can be made of the cheapest mate- 

 rial in the lumber trade, and still be superi- 

 or to an expensive cover out in the open. It 

 pays to have the shed properly constructed; 

 for example, the hive- shelves should be tru- 

 ly level — a great preventive of badly shap- 

 ed combs. 



With regard to the shelves, it is well to 

 have them hi^h enough to avoid stooping 

 when lifting heavy supers, or when exam- 

 ining the brood-chambers. This is no 

 small matter, I can assure you. Some 

 raise their hives high enough (two feet) to 

 keep toads from devouring the bees; but a 

 smail-meshed wire netting, 18 inches high, 

 is sufficient if tacked around the outside of 

 the shed. Ants may be kept away \iy the 

 use of soft pitch daubed at the foot of the 

 supporting-posts. 



What is the cost? Fifty or sixty cents 

 per hive, according to locality. The cost 

 in the open is about a dollar, thus: Hive- 

 stand, 25 cents; cover (shade- board) 43; 

 bottom-board, 2>1\ paint, 10; total, Si. 10. 



For 50 hives a shed hO feet long and 8 ft. 

 wide is required. The aisle is four feet 

 wide, and the hive-shelves take 2 feet on 

 each side. The shed is preferably run due 

 north and south, which allows the early 

 morning sun to strike the hives on the east 

 side, and the setting sunbeams on the west- 

 ern side. This has the tendency to keep 

 the hives dry. At the same time, the bees 

 are effectually shaded during the midday 

 heat, and thus the bee-keeper is master of 

 the situation. 



If any one doubts the value of a shed let 

 him try a few colonies under the shade of a 

 tree, and watch the difference in the behav- 

 ior of the bees under the two plans. The 

 shed can, of course, be modified to suit vary- 

 ing conditions; and in cool localities it 

 would be easy to make a sort of cellar of it. 

 Where cool nights stop the comb-builders at 

 their work, shutters can be applied so as to 

 retain the heat of day over the night. The 

 shutters could be readily arranged to be 

 opened at sunrise by a clock. 



There is no doubt in my mind that bees 

 in the cool nights of northern latitudes con- 

 sume considerable quantities of stores in 

 maintaining the necessary temperature of 

 the brood-nest. Of course, double-walled 

 hives obviate this to some extent. 



One very nice advantage of a bee-shed is 

 the immunit3' it gives from stings. Even 

 visitors may pass up and down between the 

 rows, without veils, and yet receive no sou- 

 venirs. But the main advantage is the 

 great relief it affords the apiarist himself. 



