1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



171 



vent the mixing-up of the bees and queens, and 

 to arrange the inside so that plenty of light, ven- 

 tilation, etc., may be provided when necessary. 

 One of the greatest advantages of the whole plan 

 is that single-walled hives may be used with 

 cheaper covers, bottom-boards, etc., since all 

 these expensive parts are not exposed to the 

 weather. Furthermore, hives, supers, etc , do 

 not need to be painted, necessarily, with the ex- 

 ception of the fronts. The building itself dete- 

 riorates, as any building will; but if kept painted 

 it should last almost a lifetime. 



Ihere is another distinct advantage in favor of 

 the house-apiary; and that is, that cross bees are 

 much more easily handled when housed in a 

 building than when outdoors. If ihey tly out 

 inside they ne\er offer attack. 



The article by Irving Long, that follows, shows 

 that colonies in house-apiaries do not swarm as 

 much as those outside on separate stands. 



HOUSE-APIARIES. 



Swarming Largely Prevented by Keeping 

 Hives in Permanent Sheds. 



BY IRVING LONG. 



For some yeats I have had five house-apiaries 

 from which I take from one to three tons of hon- 

 ey a year, which is all that I can sell here around 



home. These houses or sheds are 16 ft. long, 6 

 ft. wide, and 4 ft. high at the eaves, the height 

 in the middle, of course, being sufficient for a 

 man to stand easily. Each shed holds only 

 eight colonies, for I have found that this number 

 gives the best results in wintering. In the spring 

 one colony at each end is moved out a little at a 

 time and set on a separate stand under a tree, for 

 with eight colonies in the shed during summer 

 the hives must stand so close that many (]ueens are 

 lost. Even with only six colonies in each shed I 

 paint the hive fronts different colors, no two col- 

 ors being side by side. I have found that when- 

 ever there // any mixing it is always between 

 hives painted the same color. All the hives in 

 the sheds stand on 2X4'8 so that it is very easy 

 to space them a little wider when the two hives 

 have been removed. 



The illustration shows two of my houses, the 

 one in the background having the storm-door 

 swung down over the fronts of the hives, the way 

 I leave it the most of the winter. The storm- 

 door, however, may be raised whenever it is de- 

 sirable to allow the bees to have a cleansing 

 flight, and during the summer it is, of course, left 

 up. 



In very hot weather in summer the hives are 

 raised Yz inch from the bottom-boards in front; 

 and if this is not sufficient I sometimes pry the 

 super covers back to give ventilation at the top 

 until all clustering on the outside of the hives is 



IN PLRIOR VIEW OF IRVING LONGS BEE-SHLD. 



