THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW- 



SIS 



I built it in June, here in the woods, 

 out of log's, 12 X 20 x8 inside, chinked 

 between the log's, and plastered up 

 smooth outside and inside with clay 

 plaster. It has a good shing'led roof, 

 door in end, windows in gables. It 

 was used for extracting and storag"e of 

 honey during the summer. 



In putting- on the rafters, which 

 were hewed poles, they were left ex- 

 tended three feet outside the building, 

 roof made of cull boards, and shingled 

 down to ends of rafters. On October 

 1st I set 2x4 studding (in mj' case I 

 used poles) up two feet from the out- 

 side of the log building, boarded it up, 

 and filled this two foot space with wet 

 sawdust, pushing'- it down tight, and 

 packing full, snug up under the eaves, 

 and the same at the ends, eight feet 

 high, making a second door outside 

 the other one. A floor was put in 

 above and two feet of sawdust piled 

 overhead. Two ventilating tubes six 

 inches square were put in four feet 

 from each end, but these have been clos- 

 ed all winter. No floor was laid be- 

 low. The hard clay was scraped 

 level, and four inches of sawdust put 

 down for a carpet. Two hundred col- 

 onies were put in November 13th. A 

 thermometer was hung up in the center 

 of the room, which showed a temper- 

 ature of 4o degrees after the two doors 

 were fitted closely and tightly closed. 

 Examinations have been made weekly. 

 The thermometer has not been below 

 41 or above 46 in all winter. The bees 

 have at all times been unusually quiet, 

 a low hum can be heard when one is 

 inside with the doors shut. The dead 

 bees have been swept up four times 

 during the winter. 



At such times a light was used, but 

 it did not rouse the bees so they came 

 out. The weather here has been most 

 severe, nine times going- 40 degrees be- 

 low zero, once 43 degrees and once 45 

 degrees below, but such temperature, 

 with high winds and drifting snows, 

 have not caused any change within. 

 The sawdust was put in wet, so as to 

 prevent the warmth entering toward 

 spring, acting- as a stone wall. The 

 inside will be no warmer in wiirm 

 weather. 



Now for the cost. Here in the woods 

 the logs for building, rafters, chink- 

 ing and mudding cost nothing. Work 

 one day with team hauling the logs 

 together. One day for plastering-. 

 Clay mixed with water was put on 

 freely inside and out and mixed up 

 beside the building-. Five hundred 



feet cull boards for roofing, 650 feet 

 cull lumber to hold sawdust. Four 

 thousand shingles. 

 Upper floor 300 ft., beams 50 ft. ; 



total, 1,500 ft., at $4 m $6.00 



4 m shingles, at $1 m 4.(X) 



2 windows in gables, at 40c 80 



Hinges for doors 40c, hasp 20c. . . .60 

 10 double-box loads sawdust, 



hauling 5.00 



Nails 60 



Total cost, outside of my work $17.00 



Ten days' work, while watching 

 bees, also, completed the whole. 



Here I have a bee-house g-ood for 2o 

 years at a cost of Sl7 cash and 10 

 days' labor of myself, which answers 

 every purpose as a cellar, as I have 

 my potatoes, fruit and veg-etables in it, 

 and also shall use it during summer 

 for workshop and extracting room. It 

 is handy to get into, no steps to go 

 down, wide door, so a wheelbarrow 

 can be run right in with a load of 

 honey; and lastly, it is dry with no 

 mould or dampness. Should a colony 

 starve, their combs will be dry, sweet 

 and clean. Of course here in the pine 

 woods lumber is cheap, and in a prai- 

 rie country' one could not get log-s, but 

 I see no reason why the same could 

 not be built of lumber in the same way, 

 using sawdust between two walls. 



Bees at present are still very quiet, 

 with no marks specking outside ot 

 hives. One colon}', apparently starved, 

 was found with most bees off the 

 combs and combs empty. Some few 

 still had life enough to stir their leg-s 

 a little. I gave them a 5-lb. cake of 

 warm sugar candy at once, made by 

 melting granulated sugar in water and 

 boiling till it would harden, laying- it 

 on the frames. All revived within 12 

 hours, and now cover the candy in a 

 mass. I have often revived a starving 

 colon)' by feeding, after the bees had 

 lain on hive bottom two days, after 

 which they did as well as any. 



It is nearly time to set bees out, but 

 wait till the snow is all off and warm 

 weather seems to have come to stay. 



I WILL BUY 



a few tons of honey and pay cash at 

 your depot. Correspondence solicited. 

 Give full particulars as to qualit)', 

 sections, when it will be ready to ship, 

 price wanted, etc. If satisfactory 

 call on you. A. W. SMITH, 

 8-04-3t Birmingham, Mich 





