406 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



change them gradually, as I can on my 

 bee-yard. Of course, it will take some 

 work, but I think it will pay me. It is 

 the sun coming into the entrance that 

 often starts the bees out, when outside 

 it is too cold for them. This is what I 

 think to be one of the greatest causes of 

 spring dwindling, as Colonies facing 

 south I have thought dwindled most of 

 any. 

 Patten's Mills, N. Y. 



Be§t Paint for Hives — Does it 

 Pay to Paint Tliem ? 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY C. J. KOBINSON. 



I wish to add an answer to Query 847 

 — " Is it economy to keep hives painted ? 

 It so, what kind of paint is most de- 

 sirable ?" 



Generally, it is supposed that " white 

 lead " (so-called) and linseed oil is most 

 durable. So-called white lead is car- 

 bonate of lead, the lead, in thin sheets, 

 having been reduced to that state by 

 coming in contact with steam charged 

 with carbon. Formerly sheets of lead 

 were coiled and placed in earthen pots 

 that were filled with vinegar and kept 

 warm. Hence, white lead is of a corro- 

 sive nature, has no chemical affinity for 

 linseed oil (poppy oil is best), but slowly 

 decomposes the oil, and at length the 

 paint, being exposed to the atmosphere, 

 rubs off chalky. 



The oil should be rendered drying by 

 being boiled with lltberage or other 

 "dryers," so as to neutralize the fat 

 contained in raw oil. Two who gave 

 answers mentioned that " white lead 

 and oil (raw linseed oil) is good enough." 

 White lead mixed or ground with raw 

 oil does not, by reason of the fatty ele- 

 ment present, cohere with a pigment to 

 form an enamel or body, but the fatty 

 oil penetrates the wood on which it is 

 spread, leaving the lead like chalk. 



White zinc for painting is an oxide, 

 not so corrosive as white lead, does not 

 decompose oil, but does not form so 

 much of a body as lead does. A mixture 

 of lead and zinc makes a better paint 

 than lead alone ; but better still is paint- 

 ing with lead, and then cover it with a 

 coat of zinc, by which means the lead is 

 kept from the destructive action of the 

 atmosphere, which is far more injurious 

 to lead than zinc. 



Concerning whether it pays to paint 

 hives, it depends upon circumstances. 

 A hive made of cedar, or such durable 



material, may be kept in use many 

 years. If made of linden (basswood) or 

 maple (rock) they soon begin to decay 

 when exposed to rain, unless painted. 

 The mineral pigments — yellow ochre, 

 Venetian red, umber, and some of the 

 iron ores^ — are superior in point of dura- 

 bility compared with the metallic paints. 

 Richford, N. Y. 



•.'S./N./SH/Nb/"! 



\.f\.^\./%./*k/' 



Do not write anything- for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper witn business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



^kJLA 



Nothing' Wrong with the Bees. 



In the comments on M. D. Andes' bees 

 dying at the rate of 25 to 100 per day 

 for a considerable length of time, it is 

 said that it would indicate something is 

 astray. Suppose they were put into the 

 cellar Dec. 1st, from that time until 

 now would be 110 days — and 100 per 

 day would be 11,000 bees. Now sup- 

 pose there were 30,000 bees in the hive 

 Dec. 1st, there would still be 19,000 bees 

 left, which I think would be a good, fair 

 colony for spring. I finished putting 82 

 colonies into the cellar on Dec. 1st, and 

 have carried out an ordinary wooden 

 bucket five times, heaping full, of dead 

 bees, and do not think there is anything 

 wrong with mine. O. B. Babbows. 



Marshalltown, Iowa, March 10, 1883. 



Winter and. Bees in Minnesota. 



For the past week the country here 

 has been entirely snowbound. We have 

 had no mail for six days. The neighbors 

 travel on snow-shoes to see each other. 

 A week ago to-day 20 inches of snow 

 fell in just 24 hours, in addition to the 

 20 inches we already had before, and is 

 now the deepest snow since the winter 

 of 1856-57 ; since then we have not 

 had such a heavy snowfall in 24 hours 

 as the one a week ago, which followed 

 a heavy wind storm, and made drifts 

 from 5 to 15 feet high. Trains, to-day, 

 are running again, but the country road 



