JULY 15, 1912 



Fig. 1. — Irving Kenyon's apiary and honey house, near Syracuse, N. Y. 



SCREEN DOORS FOR HONEY-HOUSES 



A Practical Scheme for Making One that can be 



Opened Either from the Inside or Outside of 



the Building when both Hands are Occupied 



BY IRVING KENYON 



[When we visited Irving Kenyon, a beekeeper 

 who lives just outside of Syracuse, N. Y., we were 

 particularly pleased with some very ingenious con- 

 trivances that we saw at his place ; and one of 

 them was a scheme for opening a screen door with- 

 out using a hand. The middle crosspiece projects be- 

 yond the side of the d>or, maliing it possible to open 

 the door with the elLow if the hands are loaded. 

 But the reader's attention is directed particularly 

 to the "kick-open" projection at the bottom; see 

 Figs. 2, 4, and 5. For a little simple thing that any 

 one can make and attach to his honey-house doors, 

 either solid or screen, it is the best labor-saver we 

 1 ave seen in any beeyard for a long time. To use 

 tlie language of the boy, "It takes the cake." — Ed.] 



I take pleasure in describing some of the 

 plans and fixtures used in our beeyard work 

 which may be of interest to the readers of 

 Gleanings. In making a screen door for 

 our honey-house I had several points in 

 view. First, it must keep the bees from 

 getting in, and also allow any that may be 

 carried in to find an easy exit. Second, it 

 should be made so the wire cloth may be re- 

 newed easily. Third, it should be so ar- 

 ranged that it can not mash bees in closing. 

 Our old door mashed any bees that were 

 near the frame when it closed, giving the 

 building an unsightly appearance; then it 

 warped at the top enough to let the bees in. 

 When put together with nails it was not 

 easy to renew the wire cloth. The door 

 shown in the picture obviates all of these 

 troubles, as the description will show; be- 

 sides, vfe have it now so we can open the 

 door from either side with the foot if we 

 have liives or supers in our liands. 



By looking at Fig. 2 it will be seen that 

 the inside of the frame of the screen door 

 is the same width as the opening for the 

 wooden door of the building, giving us the 

 benefit of all the light and air possible. 



Perhaps the reader will be able to. under- 

 stand better if I give the measurements I 

 used; then he can vaiy it to fit his door. I 

 would advise using soft pine for the door- 

 frame, as it is less liable to swell and warp 



Fig. 2. — Kenyon's honey-house screen door, showing 

 how it i.s opened with the foot. 



