!)8 



FTFrV VKARS A.MOXCi THE BEES 



clay long, I changed my mind. 1 value the shade these 

 trees give, not so much for the good it does the bees, but 

 for the comfort of the operator working at them. I don't 

 lelieve bees sufifer as much from the hot sun shining 

 directly on the hives, as they do from having the air shut 

 o*T from them by surrounding objects. I have had combs 

 melt down in hives, the honey running in a stream on the 

 ground, one of the hives at least being in a shade of trees 

 so dense the sun never shone on it, and I suspect it was 



'' J-'ig. SI — Foundation z^'itJi Splint Supports 



for lack of air. A dense growth of corn was directly 

 back of the hives and a dense growth of young trees and 

 underbrush in front. I didn't know enough to notice this, 

 although when working at the bees my shirt would be 

 as wet as if dipped in the river. I had the young trees 

 thinned out and trimmed rj). the corn-ground in grass, so 

 the air could get through, and I now w^ork with more 

 comfort, and no comb has melted dow^n for 30 years. 



!:^ometimes I have found it desirable to shade one or 

 more hives singly. An armful of the longest fresh-cut 

 grass obtainable is laid on the hive-cover, and weighted 



