22 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



saw a man cutting up lumber that cost 

 $28 a thousand; and I told in the 

 Review of the skill and understanding 

 that is shown in so cutting that lumber 

 as to leave the stuff, or pieces, for 

 hives, nearly clear of knots — the short 

 knotty pieces cut out being used for 

 something else. It may be true that 

 the average customer, who sends away 

 for his hives, and pays a high price 

 for them, will kick, and kick hard, if 

 there are many knots in the lumber, 

 but the man who buys his own lumber, 

 and has it cut up at the planing mill, 

 lets those knots go right in ; and for 

 practical purposes, his hives are ex- 

 actly as good as though made of clear 

 stuff lumber. Most of the knots are 

 sound, and do no harm whatever in 

 any part of the hive, even in the cover, 

 while a loose knot does no harm in the 

 side or bottom of a hive. One or two 

 wire nails driven through the surround- 

 ing wood into the knot will hold it in 

 place. Even a knot hole maybe cover- 

 ed on each side of the board by tack- 

 ing on a piece of tin. After the hive 

 is painted it will scarcely be noticed; 

 and, even if it were, what of it? We 

 are keeping bees to make money, and 

 not that our hives may all be as per- 

 fect as so many pieces of household 

 furniture. 



HIVES AT SIXTY-FOUR CENTS. 

 Here in Flint we can bviy sound pine 

 lumber for $28 a thousand. It is just 

 about such a grade as I saw them cut- 

 ting up at Medina. It contains knots, 

 but most of them are sound. Since I 

 have quit keeping bees I have been 

 selling off m}' old hives and supers. 

 Along toward the end of last summer 

 there were some hives that had no 

 covers, and I went to the mill and 

 bought lumber for the ordinary flat 

 covers. I was able to get it 13 inches 

 wide, for $30 a thousand; and, using 

 the poorest pieces for bottom-boards, I 

 could get enough sound pieces for 

 covers. Finally, all the hives were 

 sold, and still neighboring farmer-bee- 



keepers kept coming in after hives, and 

 I would send an order to the mill for a 

 dozen more hives. I kept this up until 

 I had perhaps fifty or sixty hives in 

 all cut out. Right here let us call at- 

 tention to some of Bro. Root's figures. 

 He says a standard, eight-frame Dove- 

 tailed hive has about 20 feet of lumber 

 in it including the laaste. I make only 

 about ten feet in it. It does not seem 

 as though there could be one-half 

 waste. Perhaps Bro. Root figured in 

 the frames. I did not, as I bought the 

 frames, but the frames certainly would 

 not use more than two feet of lumber. 

 The lumber for the sides cost $28 a 

 thousand. The mill cut out the stuff 

 for the hives, covers, sides, bottom- 

 boards, cleats for covers and bottom- 

 boards, and delivered the stuff at my 

 house for 37 j^ cents a hive. I hired a 

 man to nail them up and paint them, 

 which cost, including nails and paint, 

 (one coat of paint), one shilling a hive. 

 I did not hire this done because I could 

 not do it myself, but because I had 

 plentj' of other work that paid me 

 better. I bought the frames of M. H. 

 Hunt. They were the all-wood frames, 

 worth, at retail, l'^ cents apiece. 

 Eight frames cost 14 cents. Hive com- 

 plete, one storj', with bottom, cover and 

 frames, 64 cents. There was not a 

 piece of the lumber that was wasted. 

 Bro. Root sells such a hive as this, 

 singly, for $1.60, if I mistake not, or 

 at $1.25 by the 100. Perhaps mine 

 may be thought an exceptional case. 

 It is possible that it is better than 

 some will be able to do, but Mr. J. E. 

 Johnson, of Williamsfield, Ills., writes 

 me that he is making his own hives 

 this winter at a cost of only 45 cents a 

 hive. Bro. Root says it is folly for one 

 to make less than 100 hives. It wasn't 

 for me. No, the hives were not dove- 

 tailed at the corners, and the frames 

 were not of the Hoffman style, both of 

 which cost a little more than in the 

 hive I have described, but I would 

 rather have hives and frames made as 



