338 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1 



for three lids costs me about 5 cts. each, 

 without paint. To prevent the cover from 

 sliding- off the hive, drive tvpo crate-staples 

 near each end on the lower side, or nail 

 small cleats across. 



A splendid cover in some respects is the 

 one used by G. J. Yoder & Son, of Meridi- 

 an, Idaho. The rim of 3^- inch lumber is 

 rabbeted so as to telescope about j-z inch 



THK m"CLELLAN DOUBLE COVER. 



over the hive. The gable roof is of shing-les, 

 well painted. There is an opening in each 

 end, for ventilation, which may be closed 

 by a button. 

 Boise, Idaho. 



[Your uncapping-can is a very good one. 

 The only trouble is, the upper compartment 

 <ught to be three or f^ur tiines as large as 

 the lower one— that is to say, the upper tub 

 will become filled with cappings long before 

 there is two inches cf honey in the lower 

 one; but in a small extracting business 

 this would not be a very serious objection. 



THE YODER COVKR. 



The plan of moving bees without closing 

 the entrance, or moving them as you de- 

 scribe, where it is not practicable to close 

 up the hives, is perfectly feasible. After the 

 bees have been severely jolted for a few 

 minutes they will not be likely to offer an 

 attack; but the difficulty is to get them 

 j )lted to quietness in the first place. A 

 \i3:orous smoking in the entrances, then a 



brisk drive, will put the bees in a quiet con- 

 dition where they will stay so. It is a well- 

 known fact that in bee-hunting the first 

 blow of the ax on the outside of the log 

 brings the bees out in battle arraj'. If they 

 are smoked back, and then a continuous 

 chopping be applied on the log, they will 

 quiet down without the further use of smoke. 

 The log can be chopped opcD, combs be torn 

 out, and no stings will be received except 

 where the bees are accidentally pinched. 

 I believe your covers to be all right.^ — Ed.] 



COVERS VE.VTILATED OR DEAD-AIR SPACED; 



INVEKTIBLE HIVES; IS THE GENEKAL 



PRINCIPLE PRACTICAL? 



M3' attention is attracted by Dr. Miller's 

 remarks in Stray Straws concerning cov- 

 ers. He sa3's, page 12, " Besides, we want 

 a cover with a dead- air space, so as to be 

 cooler in summer and warmer in winter." 

 1 think the doctor is right so far as an air- 

 space is concerned; but if he will make a 

 test of two, one having a dead- air and the 

 other a free-air or ventilated space, he will 

 find that, while the latter will keep the un- 

 der part cool by the air carrying off the 

 heat from the material over it, the one with 

 air confined holds the heat, which is con- 

 diicted to the lower part, and thus reaches 

 the interior of the hive. This knowledge 

 has been valuable to me while in Florida, 

 where I spent about five years, and design- 

 ed and built about one hundred houses, as 

 well as keeping a good many bees, the lat- 

 ter having been my hobby since boyhood — 

 to be more definite, about 25 years. My 

 own experience has thoroughly proved the 

 correctness of the above statements concern- 

 ing hive-covers. I want to add I fully agree 

 with Dr. M. that a hive-cover is the last 

 part on which to economize. 



On page 31 Mr. J. V. Wood worth asks 

 why Mr. Danzenbaker has not turned his 

 brood chamber bottom-up instead of taking 

 out the frames and inverting them; to which 

 you reply that it isnotpractical withtheDan- 

 zenbaker hive. I would ask, is it practical 

 with any hive? To me the question appears 

 an important one to bee-keepers, believing, 

 as I do, that many difficulties maybe over- 

 come and advantages gained in using a 

 practical working invertible hive. Let me 

 suggest one point. At the beginning of the 

 honey-season, be'^ore swarms appear, sup- 

 pose we invert the entire brood-chamber 

 and put on the super without even opening 

 the hive to look for queen-cells. The brood 

 will then occupy the top edges of the combs; 

 the honey is turned to the bottom of the 



