THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



185 



down to a convenient size for handles. 

 The two pieces of boards are placed 

 upon their edges, about fifteen inches 

 apart, and then fastened together by- 

 two cross-pieces nailed in between 

 them. As the bee cellar is in a side 

 hill, four hives could be placed upon 

 the barrow and carried directly into 

 the cellar. Where the cellar is under 

 a building and must be entered by go- 

 ing down stairs, this sort of a barrow 

 would not answer very well unless 

 * there were stakes put in to keep the 

 hives from sliding, and the frames 

 were not of the swinging style. Mr. H. 

 R. Boardman has a cart behind which 

 he can walk and from the front of 

 which project arms that may be thrust 

 straddle of a hive and the hive thus 

 raised from the bottom board and 

 wheeled into the cellar without so 

 much as touching the hive with the 

 hands. Mr F. H. McFarland, of 

 Vermont, has a sort of neck-yoke to 

 each end of which a hive may be at- 

 tached by wire loops that pass under 

 the hive. Mr Doolittle and Dr. Mill- 

 er have each, I believe, some sort of 

 a device that enables them louse their 

 strength to the best advantage when 

 carrying bees into the cellar. I have 

 forgotten just how their arrangements 

 were arranged, the same as I have 

 in regard to quite a number of other 

 devices that have been devised for 

 this purpose. Carrying bees into or 

 out of the cellar is hard work at best, 

 and if there is any "best way" either 

 for one man or two, let us find out 

 what it is. 



If an attempt is made to carry 

 bees into the cellar during warm 

 weather, or when the temper- 

 ature is rising and the cluster 

 expanding, there is trouble from 



the bees leaving the hives on account 

 of the disturbance. When the temper- 

 ature is falling and the cluster con- 

 tracting is the time to move them in. 

 If the bottom boards are loose (and 

 they ought to be) and there comes a 

 day when "its growing colder all the 

 time," just raisft each hive an inch or 

 two, putting a block under each cor- 

 ner* This will allow the cold to "get 

 at" the bees, causing them to cluster 

 more quickly and compactly, when 

 they may be carried into the cellar 

 without leaving a little cluster upon 

 the bottom board or very many bees 

 leaving the hive. 



No, I would not bring in the bottom 

 boards with the bees, and I would 

 stack up the hives as practiced by 

 Mr. Boardman. That is, if I had 

 room enough. Set the bottom row of 

 hives a foot or more apart. Let the 

 distance apart be such that when the 

 next row is placed upon the first, 

 each hive may set over the opening 

 between the lower hives. In other 

 words, the ends of the upper hive will 

 just nicely "catch on" to the upper 

 ends of the two lower hives. Each 

 row would be placed in a similar 

 manner, thus leaving a space below 

 each hive. For the lower row I 

 would use empty hives. I would 

 manage in some manner to have an 

 empty space below the combs, for, 

 without being able to say exactly 

 ivhy, I have noticed for several years 

 that colonies so prepared, whether in 

 doors or out, have wintered better 

 than where the bottom boards came 

 up close to the bees. Put the weak- 

 est colonies at the top. — The Review. 



FOUL BROOD. 



Foul brood is worse among bees 

 than contagious disease in an army. 



