1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



51 



Painted, vs Unpainted Hives. 



HY (i. M. DOOMTTLK. 



As the tiiue is at hand when all en- 

 terprising bee-keepers should be pre- 

 paring for next season's work, I 

 thought a few words on the desirabil- 

 ity of painting hives might not be 

 amiss. All will admit that hives look 

 much better and will last longer if 

 painted than if left unpainted. But 

 after years of experience with both 

 painted and unpainted hives in the 

 same apiary, I contend that bees will 

 not do as well in a painted hive as 

 they will in an unpainted one. But I 

 think I hear some one asking " where- 

 in is an unpainted hive better than a 

 painted one?" Principally in this, 

 that if properly covered it will keep 

 the bees dryer at all seasons of the 

 year, and owing to this dryness they 

 are consequently much warmer. As 

 unpainted wood is porous the moisture 

 evaporates or passes through all parts 

 of the hive, keeping the bees dry, 

 warm and quiet, avoiding any undue 

 consumption of honey, as well as dis- 

 ease. Several years ago I had a num- 

 ber of box hives, some of which were 

 painted, while others were not. I set 

 them out of the cellar about the first 

 of April, in as near an equal condition 

 as well could be. In the morning 

 after every cold, frosty night, there 

 would be water running out at the 

 entrance of those that were painted, 

 and on tipping them up the combs 

 were found to be quite wet on the 

 outside next the hive from the con- 

 censation of moisture, while those in 

 the unpainted hives were dry and nice, 

 and these last increased in numbers 

 faster and swarmed from one to two 

 weeks earlier than did those in the 

 painted hives. This gave a greater 



force of bees to work in the honey 

 harvest, which in turn gave a larger 

 yield of honey, and this gave more 

 money for me to jingle in my pockets. 

 " But," says one, " 1 use ground cork, 

 cut straw, sawdust, forest leaves or 

 some other absorbant in the top of the 

 hives to take care of the moisture, by 

 letting any excess that may arise pass 

 through these and out of the top of 

 the cover." This will nelp much as 

 far as the moisture is concerned, but 

 if not done on a scientific plan it will 

 let out much of the heat, which is so 

 necessary for the welfare of the col- 

 ony in early spring, by such a direct 

 draft process. Even if done properly 

 I cannot help thinking that hives will 

 keep bees better if unpainted. Paint 

 is useful only so far as looks and 

 durability is concerned, and is posi- 

 tively injurious as retarding the evap- 

 oration of moisture. 



This is the result I have arrived at 

 after 25 years of experience and close 

 observation with single walled hives, 

 and I believe the damage to the bees 

 is far greater than the cost of a new 

 hive occasionally, where ordinary 

 hives are used, say nothing of the cost 

 of the paint or time in putting it on. 

 However, with chaff or double walled 

 hives the case is different, for then the 

 moisture is driven through the first 

 wall of unpainted lumber, out into 

 the chaff or other packing, from 

 whence it goes out through the many 

 cracks and ventilators provided in the 

 outer shell of the hive. From this 

 comes the reason, largely, why bees 

 winter and thrive so much better in 

 chaff packed hires, rather than that 

 the extra protection has all to do with 

 it, as some claim. Bees can endure 

 any amount of cold provided they are 



