1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



279 



stands upright, while that which the gravel does 

 not reach, has small stalks, and lodges, though the 

 crop is much lighter. In one case it hss an ade- 

 quate supply of stiflening matter, in the other it has 

 not. It is the want of this stiflening material in the 

 pea, that makes it lie helpless on the ground, when 

 there is no near object to which it can cling for sup- 

 port. The Creator has given it fingers with which 

 to cling to other objects as a substitute for the 

 means of support in itself. The roots of the pea 

 suck in lime and no flint. Lime it must have in or- 

 der to be a pea, and the tendrils growing out from 

 the leaves indicate that it was designed to draw 

 lime from the earth instead of flint, and was endow- 

 ed accordingly with a means of support suited to a 

 limber stalk. R. A. R. 



Medford, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CHEAP BEE HIVES. 



I would say to the tyro in bee culture, that suc- 

 cess does not depend on the hive alone that he 

 uses, — it is only one branch among many that must 

 be attended to ; yet it is one point of some impor- 

 tance, because if profit is the only object in their 

 culture, and we can make a hive for 25 cents that 

 will answer every purpose of one that costs $5, we 

 save just the difference — an item worth some con- 

 sideration. If any one desires ornamental hives to 

 correspond with his establishment in other respects, 

 that is different, and there can be no objection, of 

 course, but the extra expense should not be charged 

 to the bees as a necessary outlay. With these pre- 

 liminaries, I will proceed to describe the making of 

 a hive of the simplest form, but one which will give 

 every facility for obtaining the purest honey to be 

 had, in any style that fancy may dictate. 



Pirst, the general form of the hive is a wooden 

 box, the internal size being, say, 12 inches square 

 and 14 high, made of sound boards an inch in thick- 

 ness, and unplaned on either side except at the 

 edges, to make close joints. To construct it, cut 

 boards 14 inches long, two of them 12 inches wide, 

 and two 14. These nailed together at the edges, 

 the wider ones being put over the edges of the 

 other two, will make the inside as above, viz : 12 

 inches s^quare and 14 high, and will contain a little 

 over 2000 cubic inches. 



The size is important. There should be room 

 for a brood, and for storing a winter supply of honey 

 in one apartment. If too small, an insufficient sup- 

 ply of food will be stored ; if too large, more than 

 is necessary will be stored in the hive, when it ought 

 to be in the boxes, for pi-ofit. I stated that the size 

 should be about 2000 cubic inches, but I would va- 

 ry with the latitude. Say south of 40 degrees, 

 where the winter is comparatively short, a less size 

 will do, as a less quantity of honey for food will be 

 required. But another point must be kept in. view; 

 there must be room for all the brood combs needed 

 by the queen, otherwise the colony will run down 

 for want of new recruits. From several experiments 

 to ascertain this point, 1800 inches is indicated as 

 all the room necessary for that purpose. Perhaps 

 the last size would be the proper one for profit any- 

 where south of 40 degrees latitude ; and in no case 

 would less than one cubic foot (1728 inches) be ad- 

 visable. 



For the top, take aboard 15 inches square, which 



would allow it to project half an inch over each 

 side of the hive. Plane only the upper side. Around 

 the edges of the planed side, rabbet out the corners 

 half an inch deep, and an inch inward, so that anoth- 

 er box a little larger than the main hive can be set 

 over it and fit into the rabbeted edge of the cover. 

 Through this cover make two rows of holes, say 

 about three inches each side of a line drawn through 

 its centre. These holes should be made uniformly 

 distant, because it is necessary to have a rule to go 

 by in making glass boxes to fit over them. A pat- 

 tern to make the holes by is very convenient. The 

 cover can now be nailed on. Make a small opening 

 for the passage of the bees in the front side of the 

 hive, either at the bottom, or part way up ; or, 

 what is better, in both places. These will be suf- 

 ficient for ventilation, except in hot weather, when 

 the front side of hives of full families should be 

 raised half an inch or so to admit air. Put sticks 

 across the inside to support the combs, — close the 

 holes in the top, and this part of the hive is ready 

 for the bees. 



The surplus honey intended for market should 

 be stored by the bees in glass boxes set upon the 

 top of the hive. There may be two or four of these, 

 thenumber depending on the size desired, and ihey 

 can be 6 inches by 6i, or 12i inches long. The 

 top and bottom are made of wood, and the sides of 

 glass. For the wood part, take thin boards, and 

 plane down to one-fourth of an inch, cut the proper 

 length and width, and make holes in the bottom 

 piece to correspond with the holes in the top of the 

 hive. The posts or corner pieces are five inches 

 long, and say five-eighths of an inch square. In two 

 adjacent sides of each piece, make a narrow groove 

 or channel one-fourth of an inch deep, for the glass 

 tc> fit in. Fasten these posts by a small finishing 

 nail driven through each corner of the top into the 

 end. The glass sides, previously cut of the proper 

 size, are then slipped down into the grooves. Next, 

 stick fast to the top some pieces of new white comb 

 one inch or more square, two inches apart, as a be- 

 ginning for the bees — one edge dipped in melted 

 bees wax, and applied before cooling, will hold these 

 combs fast. Then nail on the bottom and set the 

 box away for use. Common window panes of glass 

 10 by 12, will cut into pieces for this purpose with 

 but little waste. A thin grooving plane, or saw, will 

 cut the grooves for the glass. 



A covering over the glass boxes is necessary — 

 this is a box 7 inches deep, and just 13 inches 

 square inside, so as to fit down on the rabbeted 

 edge of the cover to the main hive, and shut out 

 all the light. Bees will work in such boxes without 

 the rabbeting around the edge, but unless a close 

 joint shuts out all the light, the glass and combs 

 do not appear so clear, as when perfectly dark. 



I have thus given a full description of all that is 

 really needful in a bee-hive. But those who wish, 

 can have the outside planed and painted, and add 

 moldings, dentals, and any amount of ornament ; as 

 ong as the principle is observed, it will not interfere 

 with the prosperity of the bees. But there is not 

 the least necessity of the simple hive costing over 

 25 cents, the cover to the boxes 10 cents, stand 6 

 cents, roof cents, or, all complete for 50 cents. 

 The boxes would cost the same for any hive, and 

 are not reckoned. 



The stands for the hive to rest upon, and the 

 roofing, are yet to be described. The stand is made 

 of inch boards 15 inches wide by 2 feet long, the 



