756 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



in this way: I will raise the hive 3 

 inches above the bottom-board by means 

 of a frame 3x2 inches, on which the 

 hive will rest. The front side of that 

 frame will be a movable board only )i 

 inch thick, having the usual hive en- 

 trance ; that board being made fast to 

 the hive by means of the straw packed 

 against it. The bottom-board inside the 

 hive will have a piece of brown or blot- 

 ting paper to receive dead bees and any 

 dirt falling from the frames. The lower 

 story of the outer case will also have 

 part of the front movable, say 3 feet by 

 6 to 7 inches in width. 



Now here is the beauty of the whole 

 arrangement : Whenever a fine day 

 comes, allowing a general cleansing 

 flight of the bees, or whenever you want 

 to clean the bottom-boards, you first put 

 aside the movable part of the front case, 

 then draw the packing out of the way, 

 and lastly the movable board of the 

 aforesaid frame on which the hive is 

 standing. Now gently draw the brown 

 or blotting paper of the bottom-board 

 (it will be more or less dirty), and im- 

 mediately replace it with a neat and dry 

 one, on which you may spill a few drops 

 of peppermint. If necessary you may 

 also feed the bees under the frames, 

 with the ordinary cautions not to daub 

 the bees. If the weather is very fine, 

 you may also uncover the outer cases, 

 so that in a few hours all the colonies 

 will get a thorough cleaning and drying, 

 with but very little trouble for the bee- 

 keeper. 



I tried, last year, in the cellar the 

 brown paper and the movable-board 

 system, and it proved a success. I don't 

 see why I could not not use it in con- 

 nection with the wintering-case system. 



Montreal, Canada. 



Employment in Colorado and 

 California Apiaries. 



Written fot the American Bee Journal 

 BY C. W. DAYTON. 



Several different parties in the East 

 have written me about obtaining employ- 

 ment in apiaries in Colorado and Califor- 

 nia, and ask my advice, etc. 



I would say that my experience is 

 limited, so that they should go and ex- 

 periment as I have done. But I have 

 done with this kind of experimenting 

 now. 



First, I answered a " Want " advertise- 

 ment in the Amkjucan Bke Journal or 

 Gleanings, and secured a position during 



last season with Mr. Chas. Adams, in 

 Colorado, and a most agreeable position 

 it turned out to be ; but since respond- 

 ing to another "Want," I concluded that 

 all are not Adamses, or believe and do 

 as Adams does. 



Mr. Tefft, sometime ago, stated that 

 on answering a "Want" advertisement 

 for a skillful apiarist, he received the 

 answer that when they noted his age 

 they had to smile, as they "wanted a 

 young man to handle the bees and knock 

 around the farm." This smiling may be 

 fun for one party, but to the one who 

 pays his money in railroad fares for a 

 thousand miles and misses a job, it is 

 less fun, so I say to those seeking jobs, 

 beware of the "Wants" where such 

 smiles come in. These smiling folks 

 had best experiment near home by em- 

 ploying a skillful carpenter, and then 

 set him at " knocking around " the wood 

 pile. 



In reaching the last position men- 

 tioned, I traveled 1,100 miles by rail, 

 and arrived just as the family were de- 

 parting on a visit to relatives. Bound 

 not to interrupt their plans, I agreed to 

 keep "bachelor's hall," and do the 

 chores until their return, beginning 

 about 11 o'clock in the forenoon. The 

 rest of the day passed off smoothly, and 

 I was beginning to settle my thoughts 

 down most comfortably after taking a 

 survey of the farm, surrounding country, 

 and 150 colonies of neglected but well 

 populated colonies of bees that I was to- 

 manage. There was plenty of good bee- 

 country, and no bees nearer than six 

 miles. 



About an hour after retiring, there 

 came a nibble from behind my ear, and 

 I sent something about the shape and 

 size of a gold dollar whizzing against 

 the farther wall, with the exclamation, 

 "That's the first interruption I ever 

 had from one of those varmints !" On 

 striking a light, a whole assemblage 

 went scrambling seven ways from Sun- 

 day off the pillow. I had about con- 

 cluded to start for a hotel, when the 

 thought struck me to experiment a little, 

 so I spread over the bed about 12 to 15 

 thicknesses of newspapers, and allowed 

 them to project over the edge. I don't 

 think I was molested until morning, ex- 

 cept by a dreaming, half-awake kind of 

 sleep. 



I thought the varmints always nested 

 in the wall, so the next morning all the 

 clothing was hung on the fence all day. 

 The next night I camped on the floor in 

 th(! opposite part of the room, and I felt 

 nothing, and hoard nothing, but on 

 striking a light I was equally surprised 



