KOVEMBER 15, 1912 



731 



12. Bees in different styles of skeps. 



these, just below the roof, there is a box- 

 like construction projecting through the 

 wall (as the photo clearly shows) to ac- 

 commodate spare combs. The small white 

 painted box on the outside, next to the 

 door, contains meteorological instruments. 

 The working-room of the bee-house is pro- 

 vided with work-bench, washing-stand, oil- 

 stove, and shelves for feeders and appli- 

 ances. 



Skeps are, I think, a rarity on your con- 

 tinent, although I have met people who 

 told me they had taken skeps with them 

 when they emigrated to America. But I 

 suspect those skeps have, in most cases, 

 found a place in the poultry-yard as hens' 

 nests. 



In Fig. 12 four of the most common 

 types of skej^s are united under an old- 

 fashioned straw roof that corresponds nice- 

 ly with the character of the skeps. The 

 first skep, on the left, with its trunk- 

 like appearance, contains movable combs 

 held in position by 



can be practiced and the necessary skill 

 acquired. 



The work-shop and store-rooms are close 

 to the bee-garden, and accessible over the 

 stairs a, Fig. 1 ; ?> is a storing-room for 

 timber; c c are work-shops in Avhich the 

 students are taught to make hives, etc. ; d is 

 an extracting and rinsing room; e, an of- 

 fice ; f, a bee-tight comb-chamber. 



The museum contains hives and appli- 

 ances of the past that are of historical 

 value. 



Very little stress is laid on honey pro- 

 duction, for this garden is mainly devoted 

 to instruction and scientific and practical 

 studies. However, the institute would lose 

 somewhat if the feature of honey produc- 

 tion were entirely neglected. For that pur- 

 pose a few out-apiaries are maintained. 

 One of these is so well situated that it an- 

 swers all requirements for a fertilizing sta- 

 tion for queens. Race culture is the motto 

 in the queen-rearing line now in this coun- 

 try; and by "race culture" it is always the 

 black bee that is meant ; all etforts are made 

 to purify and improve the neglected blacks. 

 1 hope to be able to devote to this matter 

 a special article later on. 



According to its aim and its special tasks 

 the work in the bee-garden is cari'ied on 

 with every precaution possible against the 

 danger of infection. The different bee- 

 stands are distributed over a large area, 

 and each one is placed on a pavement con- 

 sisting of plates of lime which are care- 

 fully cleansed every day. Combs belonging 

 to different hives are never interchanged; 

 eacli frame bears the number of the hive 

 to which it belongs. No comb is used longer 

 than two years in view of the fact that 



means of pins. The 

 next one has the pe- 

 culiarity that it can 

 be supered like a 

 modern hive, though 

 its cylindrical shape 

 precludes the use of 

 movable combs. 



The editor permit- 

 ting, I will give, in 

 a future contribu- 

 tion, a description of 

 the way the skep23ist 

 treats his bees and 

 gets his honey. I will 

 not neglect to men- 

 tion that for students 

 there is a special bee- 

 stand at the institute 

 (No. 20, Fig. 1) on 

 which manipulation 



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13. Students of a short course held at the Royal Institute for Bee Culture 

 Erlangen, Germany. 1. Professor Dr. Fleischmann, the director; 2. Pro- 

 fessor Dr. Zander, the managing director of the institute. 



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