THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



101 



penny wire nails. Now Ave raise the 

 roof directly from the wagon, which 

 stands on the lower side of the build- 

 ing, with the upper edge of the roof 

 next to the building. It is slid up to 

 place with very little trouble by stand- 

 ing on the wagon. When it gets to 

 the proper place the projections on 

 the ends of the rafters will drop into 

 the notches, making the building per- 

 fectly bee-tight. 



It takes from fifteen to twenty min- 

 utes to take it down and load it, and 

 about the same time to unload it and 

 put it into position. I moved it five 

 times last summer. I intend to have 

 a pane of glass taken out this spring, 

 and replace it with a piece of tin with 

 stove pipe hole, so I can warm it up 

 as a shop to do my queen rearing 

 work a la Mr. Doolittle. Last Spring 

 I used it for an asparagus packing 

 house, as I was short of room. I have 

 since built a new house for that pur- 

 pose, and will not need it there. The 

 other smaller one I have at an out- 

 apiary stored full of empty combs, 

 hives and supers. For extracting 

 honey there can be nothing better, 

 as they can be placed wherever want- 

 ed. One thing I forgot. In driving 

 the flooring together for the roof all 

 of the joints must be well leaded. To 

 do this I mix a very little oil with 

 white lead and daub it onto the tongue 

 and into the grooves thick. 



Upper Alton, III. 



Selecting a Location. 



by M. n in: witt. 

 In selecting a location I would say 

 to the beginner to get a good one, 

 where fruit and flowers abound, and 

 where white clover and linden or 

 basswood are found. Almost any- 



where within the United States will 

 be good. One thing I would say: 

 Don't go where there are already too 

 many bee-keepers, for several reasons. 

 First, if you should have Italians, 

 you don't want to have your queens 

 fertilized by impure drones ; second, 

 The pasturage may not be sufficient 

 to support more bees; third, Older 

 bee-keepers may think you are tread- 

 ing on their toes, and it may lead to 

 unpleasant feelings and a disastrous 

 competition. A territory of three or 

 four miles all alone is quite a luxury 

 and a good place if you intend keep- 

 ing bees for profit. Use sawdust un- 

 der and around the hives to prevent 

 the springing up of grass to the annoy- 

 ance of the bees Some use sand or 

 gravel for the same object, with suc- 

 cess, 



A timber range is very desirable, 

 for a large portion of their honey and 

 pollen they gather from timber and 

 shrubs. Many good localities are 

 found in valleys near rivers or stream- 

 lets, where linden, sumac, maple, wil- 

 low and cottonwood and other trees, 

 shrubs and vines that yield honey and 

 pollen abound. The bees should be 

 near the house, or where they can be 

 heard when they swarm. They should 

 be so located that the north and west 

 winds will not strike them — where 

 they can have a warm, calm place to 

 alight. A hedge, high board fence, 

 or building on the north and west are 

 a protection against the strong winds 

 which destroy very many laboring 

 bees in the spring, when one bee is 

 worth as much as a dozen in the lat- 

 ter part of summer, as they are then 

 much needed to care for the brood 

 and help keep it warm. If, in April, 

 the day has been rather warm and 



