LEES. 



planting bottom c, c / a space is to be left open 

 in the front of the hive the whole length at D, 

 to ailrnit the bees and allow the dirt to slide 

 off the slanting bottom. 



Fif.5. 



" 1 *, and 3, are boxes or hives, nineteen 

 jn,iit .-. square, and seven inches high, with 

 .... * tiled across, a sufficient distance from 

 CV.N ther to admit the free passage of the 

 bees; bars are to be put across the hive to 

 support the comb. The top is to be secured by 

 a tight cover. The bees enter at D, and pass 

 up the slanting bottom of the stand into the 

 boxes above, and the boxes can be increased 

 by adding others, always placing the additional 

 boxes nearest the stand." 



Mr. T. Afflick, of Cincinnati, has recently 

 published an interesting pamphlet on bees and 

 their hives, entitled " Bee-Breeding in the 

 West," which contains much useful informa- 

 tion. His plan for constructing and placing 

 hives seems to combine economy, simplicity, 

 and durability, with the great desideratum of 

 securing the bees against the moth. 



The invention is called the Subtended hive, 

 and may be constructed by any farmer who 

 can handle a saw, a plane, and a hammer, by 

 pursuing the following directions. " The boxes 

 of which it is to be composed, must be formed 

 of well-seasoned boards, free from knots and 

 wind-shakes, one inch thick ; they may be ten, 

 eleven, or twelve inches square in the clear, 

 well-dressed on each side, and joined on the 

 edges, so as to fit close, without being tongued 

 or grooved. Before nailing together at the 

 sides, lay a strip of thick white-lead paint on 

 the edge, which will render the joint impervi- 

 ous to the ovipositor of the moth. In the top 

 of each box cut two semicircular holes, at the 

 front and back, one inch and a half in diame- 

 ter, the straight side being in a line with the 

 back and front of the box, so that the bees may 

 have a straight road in their way from one 

 story to the other ; the top of the upper box 

 must have an extra cover fixed with screws, 

 that it may be easily removed in case of 

 need, so as to form a second box when requir- 

 ed : pour a iittie melted bee-wax over the in- 



BEES. 



1 side of the top, which will enable the bees to 

 | attach their comb more firmly. We will sup- 

 j pose the boxes thus made, to be a cube of 

 twelve inches inside measure; in that case, 

 the tunnel-stand will be made thus : take a 

 piece of two-inch pine plank, free from knots 

 and shakes, twenty-six inches long and eight- 

 een inches broad ; now, ten inches from one 

 end, and two inches from the other and from 

 each side, mark off a square of fourteen 

 inches ; from the outside of this square, the 

 board is dressed off with an even slope until 

 its thickness at the front edge is reduced to 

 half an inch, and at the other three edges, t. 

 about an inch. The square is then to be re- 

 duced to twelve inches, in the centre of which 

 is bored an inch auger-hole, and to this hole 

 the inner square is gradually sloped to the 

 depth of an inch thus securing the bees from 

 any possibility of wet lodging about their hive, 

 and affording them free ventilation. There 

 will then be a level, smooth strip, of one inch 

 in width, surroanding the square of twelve 

 inches, on which to set the box or hive. Two 

 inches from the /ront edge of the stand, com- 

 mence cutting a channel two inches in width, 

 and of such a depth as to carry it out on an 

 even slope half-way between the inner edge of 

 the hive and the ventilating hole in the centre ; 

 and over this, fit in a strip of wood as neatly 

 as possible, dressing it down even with the 

 slope of the stand, so as to leave a tunnel two 

 inches in width and a quarter of an inch deep. 

 Under the centre hole, and over the outlet of 

 the tunnel, hang small wire grates, the first to 

 prevent the entrance of other insects, and the 

 other to be thrown over to prevent the exit of 

 the bees, or fastened down to keep them at 

 home, in clear, sunshiny days in winter. For 

 feet to the stand, use four or five inch screws, 

 screwed in from below far*enough to be firm ; 

 and the whole should have two coats of white 

 paint, sometime before it is wanted, that the 

 smell may be dissipated, as it is very offensive 

 to the bees." (Farmer's Cabinet.) 



A great variety of patent and fancy hives 

 are from time to time vaunted for their very 

 superior qualities, but in general the simplest 

 construction answers best, and there is per- 

 haps no hive which combines so many advan- 

 tages as that composed of sections. 



In most of the oldest settled parts of the 

 United States, the larva or maggot of l he bee- 

 moth (Phakena cereana), a small graj miller, 

 commits great devastation among the swarms 

 of bees. In many places in New England, the 

 farmers have been induced to abandon the 

 bee-culture entirely on account of the destruc- 

 tion caused by the bee-moth. These lay their 

 eggs in the corners and other interior parts of 

 the hive, which they enter at night. In due 

 time these eggs are hatched out into maggots, 

 and growing into worms with strong mandibles, 

 they gnaw their way in any direction they 

 choose to go, making destructive tracks through 

 the honey-comb. After this destructive course, 

 the worm envelopes itself in a thick, soft case 

 or web, and there awaits the final change by 

 which it is converted into the perfect winged 

 miller. Numerous are the expedients resorted 

 to and recommended to obviate the destruction 



167 



