592 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



thumb or finger, that I am very much in- 

 clined to let it alone. 



Why, the pleasure I derive from putting 

 together a bunch of factory hives more than 

 pays me for the extra cost that I would 



MAKING ONE'S OWN HIVES. 



A True Story With a Good Moral to it. 



BY FRANK M'GLADE. 



I have been reading several articles on 

 the subject of cheaper hives, which have 

 been intensely interesting to me, especially 

 when I remember the first few years of my 

 experience in bee keeping. 1 bought a saw 

 outfit with power, and was going to make 

 my own hives and a few for the neighbors; 

 but when I came to put them into use they 

 would not fit, and caused me much bother. 

 I gave the whole thing up, and have been 

 using factory hives and all things pertain- 

 ing thereto since, and shall continue to do so 

 as long as I keep bees; so, in view of my 

 experience as seen through 25 years, I say, 

 "Lord, pity the man who buys a buzz- 

 saw." 



Of course, it cati be made to work if you 

 buy expensive machinery and pay enough 

 for it; but the money thus spent would buy 

 all the hives an ordinary bee-keeper would 

 need in a life time. 



A buzz saw is a harmless- looking thing; 

 but it has a habit of going in such a ' ' wob- 

 bly" way, to say nothing of its love for a 



"l AM GOING TO MAKE MV OWN HIVES AND MY NEIGH- 

 BORS' — SEE?" 



" LORD, PITY THE MAN WHO BUYS A BUZZ- 

 SAW. ' ' 



save if / made them, to say nothing about 

 the benefit to my temper to work at it all 

 day in the spring. Sun shining warm, fish 

 biting, bees humming in the trees, is like a 

 poem. 



When I think of the fits I used to have, 

 and look at the fits in a lot of factory hives, 

 I am more than ever confirmed in the eter- 

 nal fitness of. all things, especially those 

 made by The A. I. Root Co. So my advice 

 is,"Don'tbuyabuzz-saw; but if 

 you think yr u must make your 

 own hi/es, buy a 24-in. No. 12 

 skew-back Fulton hand- saw, a 

 jack-plane, and a square. You 

 can get pine boxes at the store 

 for 5 cents each, on which you 

 can practice, and it will not 

 cost so much. 



I winter mj' bees on their sum- 

 mer stands. I buy coffee-boxes 

 at the stores for 10 cents each ; 

 take off the top and bottom; 

 saw off 3 inches of the edge of 

 one end and nail it inside. I 

 set this case over the hive, which 

 is about three or four inches 

 larger than the hive. This I 

 pack with clover chaft"; takeoff 

 supers; put over the frames a 

 piece of rag carpet, and fill up 

 with chaff for covers. I get 

 steel roofing in rolls; cut pieces 

 36 in. long; snip corners, and 

 fold down. These cost 20 cts. 

 each; pack them thus, and let 

 them go. Since doing this way 

 I have not lost a colony. This 

 last winter they were confined 

 from Nov. 1 until Jan. 22, about 

 85 days continuously, with all 



