A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



lously small, it seemed wise to risk the chance 

 of adding such busy workers to the home. 



I knew nothing about wintering bees, but 

 as they were standing upon a bench in the 

 orchard, I had them carefully lifted into a 

 spring wagon, instructing the driver to walk 

 his horses the mile and a half to our farm; 

 which he did for one dollar. Not knowing 

 just what protection was required, we put a 

 large packing case on its side in a sheltered 

 corner of the garden, and set the hives inside 

 it. As the extreme cold weather commenced 

 soon after, some boards were joined together 

 by means of battens top and bottom, and 

 stood up in front of the case, on which it 

 rested at the top, sloping out a few inches on 

 the ground, so that it kept the snow from 

 drifting in, yet allowed ventilation. 



March 15 the boards were removed, and 

 we watched with much anxiety for the bees 

 to appear. Days went by and we were con- 

 vinced that the hives were empty or the in- 

 mates frozen to death, but on the last day of 



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