SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE 8S 



split ; but it should be kept painted well, for, as it is very soft and sometimes 

 thin, it will let the water or dampness through. 



In putting the covers together, great care should be exercised to turn 

 to the weather the side of the board which grew nearer the center of the 

 tree, else they will warp much more, and you will have to nail them well 

 with small-bodied flat-headed nails, long enough to go through and clinch 

 on the other side. Finishing nails are not good for this purpose, as their 

 heads are too small, and will pull through the wood should the board be 

 inclined to warp, and they would not hold it in place. After the covers are 

 made they should be painted well before they are put on the hives. 



Where hives are exposed to the sun more or less, Fig. i is the best 

 cover, as it has a one-inch air-space between the top of it and the bottom, 

 admitting a current of air through it. Hives with covers on them like this 

 one, and well vented at the bottom, will stand the heat of the sun anywhere 

 in the South. 



Nearly every bee-keeper has had some experience with heavy combs of 

 honey melting down in his apiary, and many large vigorous colonies of bees, 

 and full hives of honey, have been lost by the heat of the sun. 



Fig. 3 is an end view of cover Fig. i. Fig. 2 is a still cheaper cover, 

 very easy and simple to make, and is durable, but should not be used except 

 when hives are shaded. 



Permit me to say here that, if there had been as much time devoted to 

 the study and care of honey-bees as there has been lost in hive-making, bee 

 culture would not be where it is to-day. But bee-supply manufacturers have 

 not had many agents in the South, and supplies were hard to get; but we 

 now have plenty of supplies near, and let us avail ourselves of them. 



WEAK COLONIES. 



Weak colonies are those that are below an average in bees, and they can 

 be found in nearly every apiary. "Weaklings," as they are more commonly 

 called, are hard to get rid of, for a populous colony will often get a back- 

 set; and as bees are very short-lived insects they soon dwindle down below 

 an average. Especially is this true if they do not receive prompt attention 

 at the time they start backward. So it is common occurrence, even at the 

 close of the honey-flow, to have some colonies four stories high, some three, 

 some two, and some with only one story. The apiarist who has a large num- 

 ber of colonies to look after has more of these weaklings to contend with 

 than the apiarist who has only a moderate number of colonies to care for. 

 It is hard to get rid of the weaker colonies, and stay rid of them, but they 

 can be used to advantage, for good queens can be mated or kept in them 

 until they are needed elsewhere. Sometimes they will store a few pounds 

 of surplus honey during a heavy flow. But generally they require much 



