THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



399 



a small colony can be built up by giv- 

 ing- a pint of thin syrup each week. 

 This springing- of bees I originally ex- 

 pected to be one of the hard problems, 

 but I find the even temperature of the 

 house-apiary just the thing to hustle 

 the bees along in the early season. 



WINTERING BEES IN A CELLAR. 



I like best putting bees in the cellar 

 without any bottom-boards, stacking 

 them up on a table 16 inches high, 

 having a loose board top that can be 

 arranged so there will be an opening 

 one inch wide for ventilation. I have 

 experimented considerably as to the 

 size of this opening, until 1 am forced 

 to believe one inch for the bottom tier a 

 great plenty. This space can be in- 

 creased, the higher the location of the 

 stock, if one so desires, but it is not at 

 all necessary. The beauty of this 

 opening over an entrance is that it can- 

 not get clogged, as everything falls 

 down. 



Our bees, once in a cellar such as I 

 have described, can be left alone until 

 it is time to put them out again. 



This completes the round, I have 

 come back to the place of starting. 



The most I can say for the manage- 

 ment here given is that it is successful, 



and accomplishes the result sought 

 after. 



Now, brother bee-keepers, don't think 

 the house-apiary a thing of the past, 

 for I honestly believe it offers the most 

 practicable equipment for an out- 

 yard. Think of the security, the pro- 

 tection, the convenience, the amount of 

 time saved, and the personal gratifica- 

 tion of working in a house-apiary. 



A house-apiary like my Wilcox yard 

 costs $250 to build, and another $250 to 

 equip, making $500. This will accom- 

 modate 78 colonies of bees. You say, 

 "too expensive." Let's see. We buy a 

 farm and pay $6,000, which will, per- 

 haps, give us an annual net income of 

 $500, but that is too high. Take $1,000 

 invested properly in bees, and it will 

 yield $500. Then why be afraid to in- 

 vest a little money in bees ? I believe 

 the greatest drawback in bee-keeping 

 today is that so many people who keep 

 bees expect them to work for nothing 

 and board themselves. The practical 

 man has to make investments before he 

 can expect to realize. As for me, I ex- 

 pect to be a bee-keeper all my life, and 

 want my equipment as complete as 

 possible, so that the work, though 

 arduous at times, will be enjoyed in 

 the main. 



LowviLLE, N. Y., Nov, 15, 1904. 



allp ClheaiPp Sm( 



mse^i^-piane^ 



BY A. A. LUDINGTON. 



¥EARS ago I began making hives 

 that were formed of closed-end 

 frames hanging on two brackets, each 

 bracket being supported by a wire 

 loop slipped over a nail in a stake 

 driven into the ground. The frame- 

 stuff is all half an inch thick, and iVs 



inches wide, except for the two out- 

 side frames, which arel% inches wide. 

 The front, back and bottom of the hive 

 are each simply a plain board, the 

 latter being hinged at the back edg 

 so that it can be let down. There was 

 little attempt at handling the combs of 



