nC) FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



inch so as to serve as a handle. One of these covers 

 weighs five pounds. 



A cover sent me by the A. I. Root Co. covered with 

 paper and painted, has been in use several years, and so 

 far it seems to stand as well as zinc or tin. Possibly this 

 paper may do as well as the metal and save expense. I 

 would rather pay a good price for a good cover, rain- 

 proof, bee-proof, non-warping, non-twisting, with a dead- 

 air space, than to take a poorer cover as a gift. 



The hundred covers I have mentioned were made 

 specially to order, but I am glad to see that the A. I. 

 Root Co. have now on their list a cover made on the same 

 principle, 



HIVE-STAXDS. ^ 



My hive-stands are simple and inexpensive (Fig. 39). 

 They are made of common fence-boards 6 inches wide. 

 Two pieces 32 inches long are nailed upon two other 

 pieces or cleats 24 inches long. That's all. Of course 

 the longer pieces are uppermost, leaving the cleats below. 

 Two similar cleats, but loose, lie on the ground under the 

 first-mentioned cleats. This makes it equivalent to cleats 

 of two-inch stufif, with the decided advantage that only 

 the loose cleat will rot away by lying on the ground, with- 

 out spoiling the whole stand. These stands are leveled 

 with a spirit-level before the hives are placed on them, 

 (sometimes not till afterward), being made perfectly level 

 from side to side, with the rear one or two inches higher 

 than the front. Each of these stands is intended for two 

 hives, with a space of 2 to 4 inches between the two hives. 

 It is much easier to level a stand like this than to level one 

 for a single hive. There are other advantages. 



HIVES IX PAIRS. -/ • 



This putting in pairs is quite a saving of room ; for if 

 room were allowed for working on each side of each hive, 

 only two-thirds the number could be g^t into the row. 

 But so far as the bees are concerned, it is equivalent to 



