440 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



You will notice that I use a false or 

 weather cover over the regular cover. At 

 drst I used hali-inch boards for this cover, 

 mostly basswood; but I found that, in spite 

 of paint, the cover would not last long, and 

 clear lumber became quite an expensive 

 thing, besides the trouble of renewing the 

 cover every lew years. Then I tried roof- 

 ing tin for covers, without any boards on 

 top, but I did not find that very satisfac- 

 tory. The tin would rust through in a few 

 years, quickest where it was nailed. Be- 

 sides, the covers were too light to stay on 

 in any wind; they would also bend up so 

 that they became very bad-looking at best. 

 I next tried galvanized iron, but found that 

 it would also rust where a nail was driven, 

 and found the same trouble with the wind. 



The cover I use at present, the kind you 

 see on most of the hives in the photos, I find 

 perfectly satisfactory. It consists of a rim 

 and a rounding lop covered with galvan- 

 ized iron crimped over the projecting edges 

 of the top. This does away with the nail- 

 ing, as the galvanized iron is held on by 

 means of the crimping of the edges. The 

 cover is also heavier, and is more firm. The 

 boards under the galvanized iron may be of 

 any grade, as they are not exposed to the 

 weather. The only thing that I see against 

 :he covers is the first expense; but I believe 



that, in the long run, they are the cheap: 

 est. 



Tisch Mills, Wis., Jan, 13. 



[Your interior view suggests several inter- 

 rogation-marks. What about that Given 

 found ition- press that shows over to the 

 right of the picture? Is it in service yet? 

 and if so. what about the foundation? Then 

 we notice that one of your extractors is 

 high-geared, and the other low^-geared. 

 Why this? Can you not give us a little more 

 light? Your picture suggests that you are 

 a practical bee-keeper.— Ed.] 



LABOR-SAVING IN SNOWY WINTERS. 

 The Experience of a Veteran. 



BY T. F. BINGHAM. 



The uncertainty of winter, and the fuss 

 of putting bees in a cellar, have left the 

 winter problem a debatable one in the mid- 

 dle and northern portion of the United 

 States. Continuous uniform cold has not, 

 wi'hin the past twelve years, pervaded so 

 wide a region as has the winter just past. 

 From Nov. 1 to March 14 not a single day 

 has favored or permitted the flight of bees, 

 even in protected places, in this vicinity; 



koehler's apiary with galvanized covers. 



