AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



361 



method of packing that I adopted last 

 spring with pleasure and profit. 



One objection to spring packing is that 

 of the cost of the boxes or something to 

 hold the packing material in position. 

 Those that I used a year ago are certainly 

 not open to that objection. They are made 

 of culled shingles. First there is a frame 

 or ring made from cheap lumber sawed up 

 to the right lengths, and then split up into 

 piece.s two inches wide. These frames are 

 about four inches larger each way than the 

 outside of a hive. To the inside of a ring 

 or frame are nailed the shingles in an up- 

 right position, the frame coming about the 

 middle of the lengthwise way of the shin- 

 gles. A few of the shingles at one end are 

 cut three or four inches short, their lower 

 ends resting upon a '■ bridge " placed upon 

 that part of the bottom-board that projects 

 in front of the hive. When this rim of 

 shingles is placed over or around a hive, 

 there is a space of nearly two inches be- 

 tween it and the hive. This space is filled 

 with planer shavings. 



The hive is now all protected except the 

 top. and that is really the most important 

 point. To protect this I first removed the 

 cover and spread over the top a piece of oil 

 cloth. I then put on a super filled with 

 planer shavings, the shavings being kept in 

 place by a sheet of heavy paper tacked to 

 its lower side. In some instances I tacked 

 a honey-board to the bottom of the super, 

 laid a piece of Be»irm paper on top of the 

 honey-board, and then put the shavings on 

 top of that, and this arrangement worked 

 all right, the bees not gnawing the paper 

 to amount to anything, but when I set a 

 super right down on the frames with no 

 honey-board between, and no oilcloth, the 

 bees cut great holes in the stoutest kind of 

 manilla paper in three days' time, and let 

 the shavings all down amongst them. I 

 had a ''regular circus " getting off those 

 supers, and how I should have laughed at 

 any other man who would have cut up such 

 a caper. Over the super is placed the hive- 

 cover with a stone on top to keep the wind 

 from blowing off the cover. 



To keep the rain out of the packing, and 

 the wind from blowing it away, narrow 

 shingles were placed in a slightly slanting 

 position against the sides of the super, their 

 lower edges resting on the tops of the shin- 

 gles, to which they were tacked with wire 

 nails. 



I now use a chaff hive as a little house 

 for keeping my smokers, smoker-fuel, 

 matches, and spring-bottom oil-can filled 

 with kerosene oil. Don't keep these things 

 in buildings ; it is too dangerous. 



Some More KoiiMting'. — In the To- 

 ronto, Ont., Empire tor March 6th, we find 

 the following under the heading, " Bees 

 and Honey:" 



Hon. Mr. Angers, Minister of Agriculture, 

 is making arrangements for adding to the 

 experimental farm work a branch depart- 

 ment for the encouragement of apiculture. 



At the World's Fair Ontario alone secured 

 more awards for its exhibits of honey and 

 bee-keeping appliances than the whole of 

 the United States, and more than all other 

 countries combined. 



A well-known authority on bee-keeping. 

 Mr. Holtermann, of Brantford, writing to 

 the Minister, says that the average Cana- 

 dian honey is far superior to the product of 

 the United States. Canada is capable of 

 producing it in vast quantities, and it is a 

 matter of regret that other provinces be- 

 sides Ontario did not exhibit in this class 

 at Chicago. 



So Bro. Holtermann has also become in- 

 toxicated with Canadian enthusiasm, and 

 makes queer statements ! Just why, and in 

 what respect, " average Canadian honey is 

 far superior to the product of the United 

 States,"' isn't explained. Well, it's rather 

 hard to "explain "' the existence of imagi- 

 nary things, and that may be why no ex- 

 cuse is given for making the statement. 



Also, what about the statement in the 

 above clipping, where it says, "Ontario 

 alone secured more awards for its exhibits 

 of honey and bee-keeping appliances than 

 the whole of the United States ?"' Some 

 folks never could learn arithmetic, and 

 that may account for their inability to add, 

 subtract, etc. , 



In the liural Canadia/>, the sa,me brother 

 editor says this: 



After recent triumphs of our bee-keepers 

 at the World's Columbian Exposition, and 

 after the distinction which we have always 

 won when our honey was entered into com- 

 petition with the world, I need not do any 

 more than remind Canadians that Provi- 

 dence has richly endowed our land with the 

 best climate, soil and flora, under which 

 the choicest honey can be produced in pay- 

 ing quantities. No Canadian will wish to 

 dispute this, no other dare do this. 



How grateful Canadians ought to be, 

 when they remember how " richly " a kind 

 "Providence" has "endowed" their 

 "land!" Why, bless you, we always 

 thought that the same Providence was also 

 on f/ils side of the imaginary line that sep- 

 arates Canada and the United States, but 

 we must have been mistaken, and so won't 

 "dare'' to "dispute" what Bro. Holter- 

 mann says ! 



It does beat all, how much enjoyment 

 some people do get out of a vivid imagina- 

 tion! How glorious it does make them 

 feel! 



Visit tlie IVoi'ld's Fair for only 

 cents. See page 325. 



