GLEAjflNGS IN BEE CULtUEE. 



123 



DOOLITTLE'B BEE-CAVE, ILLUSTKAT- 

 ED. 



FURTHER PARTICULARS AS TO HOW THE ONE DE- 

 SCRIBED ON PAGE 888 FOR LAST YEAR IS 

 MADE. 



Xp FTER the appearance of the article in 

 9f]^ the heading, it occurred to us that Mr. 

 ]N[ Doolittle's bee cellar, or cave, ought 

 ■*^ to have been illustrated with an en- 

 graving accompanied with suitable 

 diagrams. In a letter to friend D. we ex- 

 pressed this opinion, and suggested that it 

 would not be too late to have them yet. 

 We accordingly requested him to make, or 

 get some one who was handy with the pen- 

 cil to make the two or three sketches, and 

 send them to us, so that our engraver could 

 reproduce them for these pages. Mr. D. 

 complied, and the result we append below : 



If the reader will turn to page 888 of Gleanings 

 for 1887, and page 7 for 1888, reading those articles 

 in connection with the following illustrations, I 

 think all will be plain. Fig. 1 represents the out- 



OUTSIDE VIEW OF DOCJLITTLE'S BEE-CELLAR— FIG. 1. 



side appearance of the cellar, as viewed from the 

 southeast. The ground should gradually rise 

 from the foreground up to the fence, the back end of 

 the roof at the peak being lower, or as low, as the 

 ground opposite to it, on each side. The outer 

 roof is boards (hemlock) battened. In Fig: 2, 1 rep- 

 resents the window in the gable end of the ante- 

 room, so 1 can have a little light after I go in and 

 shut the first door. In this ante-room (see Figs. 2 

 and 3) I light my candle, have the sawdust to carry 

 in to spread on the floor, etc. In Fig. 3, 1 is the 



upper drain, or water-course, to carry off all sur- 

 face water coming from the roof and elsewhere, it 

 being made in a large scoop form, by taking dirt 

 out to go between the two roofs, as illusirated in 

 Fig. 1. The fence is shown in the rear. This causes 

 the snow to drift on the roof. In Fig. 3, 6 shows the 

 ventilator at the back end of the cellar. 



Figure 3 represents the 

 front view, also ground- 

 plan of the ante-room and 

 doors. 1 is the casing that 

 the outer door hangs on 

 and shuts against; 3 is the 

 outer door which swings 

 in and clear around 

 against the south side of 

 the ante room; 3 is the first 

 door toward entering the 

 cellar; and in opening, it 

 swings out and around the 

 north side of the ante- 

 room, finding the position 

 when open as represented. 

 4 is the next door, two feet 

 further in, which in open- 

 GHOUND-PLAN OF BEE- '"^ '^'s'^ Swings Out and 

 CELLAR. around against No. 3, as 



shown; 5 is the door enter- 

 ing the cellar; and in opening, it swings into the cel- 

 lar around against the south wall, unless the cellar 

 is full of bees, in which case a stop is so placed 

 that it shall not hit the hives. 



In entering the cellar I first go into the ante- 

 room and shut the door, as I have explained; then I 

 open Nos. 3 and 4, and step in to the last dead-air 

 space, closing No. 4 after mo, but allowing No. 3 to 

 remain open. I now open No. 5, and quickly step 

 into the cellar, closing 5 after me. Thus it will be 

 seen that very little change of air can take, place 

 by my entering, especially when I say that all is 

 covered overhead and on all sides with dirt, ex- 

 cept the ante-room. 



BEE-CELLAR WITH ROOF TORN AWAY— FIG. 3. 



Fig. 3 represents the inside of the cellar. 1 rep- 



