622 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



young bees that would be ready for fleld 

 labor after the honey harvest was over ; 

 and when we consider that the 20,000 

 or 30,000 bees in a working colony 

 must each be given a drop of honey on 

 hatching, and consume each day several 

 drops, we realize the enormous expense 

 of producing bees during a heavy honey- 

 flow ; and we should have no more con- 

 scientious scruples in killing them, than 

 in killing a fatted pig. 



(Continued next week.) 



Hive-Making by Hand. 



When I was studying for a couple of 

 years, and trying to decide what hive to 

 adopt, I decided upon one thing, and 

 that was that I never would invent a 

 bee-hive. Then I got to where I must 

 either make a hive or wait, and I didn't 

 want to wait. Of course I had the "A 

 B C of Bee-Culture," and could read 

 what it said, but such things as dum- 

 mies, T supers and bee-spaces, were like 

 Greek letters to me — I had to learn what 

 they were, and what they meant. 



It took me half a day to make the 

 first frame, and then it was not quite 

 right. I am now making a hive of the 

 dovetailed pattern and dimensions, with 

 all dovetails left off from the bodies and 

 frames. If I mention just three points, 

 my method, I think, will be plain to all : 



1st. Making the body of half-inch 

 boards, and using two thicknesses for 

 the ends, the inside end-board forms the 

 rabbet without cutting a rabbet, and 

 the sides nail on to it. The outside end- 

 boards nail on to the ends of the sides, 

 thus forming a double box, lap-joint, 

 cross-nailed. 



2nd. Top-bar and bottom-bar of 

 frames nail inside of the end-bars, and 

 by cutting the end-bars Hoffman style, 

 they can be hung on a wire-nail driven 

 into the top-bar, instead of leaving the 

 top-bar projecting ; this makes the saw- 

 ing of frame stuff all square. 



3rd. The square-cut sawing-box with 

 one end, and the saw-kerfs properly ar- 

 ranged, enables me to saw everything 

 square and true, and of the right length, 

 without measuring, after the material 

 has been worked out the proper width 

 and thickness. 



Don't think for one moment that I 

 recommend making hives by hand, ex- 

 cept for spare hours, rainy days, or 

 when a beginner has nothing else to do, 

 and wants to keep learning. Make 

 every part entirely interchangeable, and 



all standard dimensionss, o that when 

 you need factory-made hives to keep up 

 with your increase, all will work to- 

 gether. E. B. Whipple. 

 Grasmere, Fla. 



Liocating an Apiary on the Side 

 of a Hountain. 



Query 871.— 1. Would it be advisable to 

 locate an apiary on the east side of a moun- 

 tain, where it would be shaded after 3 p.m. in 

 the summer, with an east and south exposure? 

 2. Would it have any influence regarding the 

 bees working late in the day ?— Oreg. 



I should not think so. — Mrs. L. Hak- 



RISON. 



You can judge much better than one 

 3,000 miles away. — R. L. Taylor. 



I don't think it would make much 

 difference, if other things are the same. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



In my locality it would be all rights- 

 just the place I should want, for several 

 good reasons. — H. D. Cutting. 



1. I would risk such a location every 

 time, if it afforded plenty of bee-forage. 

 2. I think not. — G. W. Demaree. 



1. It might be, if no better could be 

 had. 2. On some days, at least, they'd 

 knock off work earlier. — C. C. M xler. 



1. I should consider that a first-class 

 location. 2. I do not think it would 

 make any serious difference. — C. H. Dib- 



BERN. 



1. I would put them there if it suited 

 ray convenience. 2. I don't think it 

 would, if they had good pasture. — E. 

 France. 



1. Yes, if a due south exposure cannot 

 be had. 2. Yes, they will stop flying 

 earlier in the day, but will also begin 

 earlier. — Dad ant & Son. 



1. I think that would be a good loca- 

 tion. 2. If they lost any time in the 

 evening, would they not make it up in 

 the morning ? — Eugene Secor. 



