80 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



is driven through from the outside the 

 frost follows it and accumulates on in- 

 side, which melts off during warm days, 

 and thus causes a great amount of 

 moisture on the inside of the hive. 



As there has 

 been considerable 

 demand for a thin 

 walled hive, we 

 have constructed 

 one,an illustration 

 of which is here 

 shown, which has 

 the same inside dimensions as the dove- 

 tailed hive, and whose inside material 

 is interchangable with it. It is some- 

 what cheaper than the regular dove- 

 tailed hive, having sides of § in. mate- 

 rial and ends of § in. thick material. 

 The latter are rabbeted out | in. square, 

 so that the side 

 pieces slip into 

 the rabbet some- 

 thing like the 

 following: 



Itis really a dovetailed hive in every- 

 thing except the name. We call it our 

 Thin walled hive. The cover is made 

 or f in. material with end cleats § in. 

 thick; in every way just the same as 

 the cover of the dovetailed hive. When 

 used with an outside winter case we. be- 

 lieve it to be the most complete, and at 

 the same time the cheapest winter 

 hive in use. 



There is a \\ in. space between the 

 hive proper and winter case, both on 

 sides and ends, and whether packed 

 with chaff or us>ed with a dead air space, 

 our experience with hives leads us to 

 believe that it will make in everyway 

 as perfect a wintering hive as has ever 

 been invented. Where it is desired to 

 pack the hive with chaff for winter the 

 half story aud cover of hive is remov- 

 ed and the brood frames covered with 

 burlap or cloth. Then pack the sides 

 with any suitable material and place 

 above the frames whatever thickness 

 may be considered the best for climate 

 in which the. hive is used, or the empty 

 case can be left on top of the hive and 



the same filled with a cushion, allowing 

 the packing on the sides of the hive to 

 come up to the top of the case; this 

 will leave the brood chamber in better 

 shape to get at for examination or for 

 the purpose of feeding. When used 

 without packing we are of the opinion 

 that it is better to leave the winter case 

 on during the summer. It is so con- 

 structed that it will not be in the way 

 at all, and will be a protection to the 

 hive during extremely hot weather. As 

 some may think that the case will be 

 in the way, however, when handling 

 bees, the sides of the case may be re- 

 moved and the cover placed directly 

 on top of the flat cover of hive, as 

 shown in illustration. This will form a 

 very good shade 

 ' tor the bees and 

 doubtless this ar- 

 rangement will 

 be preferred by 

 (•nany. By using 

 "building paper 

 to line the. win- 

 ter case it may be made very warm. 



By simply removing the fx-§ in. piece 

 at the back of the hive an entrance can 

 be made at the back end giving a double 

 entrance to the hive, and should it be 

 desired to use the hive for nucleus hive, 

 for two small swarms, queen rearing or 

 any similar purpose, a division board 

 can be placed in the middle of brood 

 chamber and an entrance made at diag- 

 onally opposite ends of the hive. To 

 do this will require no cutting of the 

 hive or anything more than slipping 

 under each- end a small piece of wood 

 cut the proper length. 



We believe this hive and winter case 

 to be the cheapest and most efficient, 

 for the several purposes, that has yet 

 been offered, and we anticipate a large 

 sale un them. Bee-keepers having the 

 regular dovetailed hive will, with this 

 winter case, have the cheapest, most 

 convenient and safest winter hive that 

 can be obtained. We have put the 

 prices very low. They will be found 

 elsewhere in this issue. 



