1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



21 



two bunches of bees; and both, being too 

 small, died. 



When it comes to indoor wintering, espe- 

 cially where the cellar temperature does not 

 go below 45 F., a winter nest is not so vital- 

 ly necessary. But if the temperature goes 

 down below 45, then the absence of a winter 

 nest may mean the death of a colony. 



Nature has worked out this problem of 

 wintering bees; and when we tamper with 

 her plans we tamper with our pocketbook. 

 While we can do certain things contrary to 

 nature, we can not interfere with her plan 

 in the arrangement of the combs. 



BEE-KEEPING AS A HOBBY, 



An Explanation of the Various Parts of a Hive 

 for the Benefit of the Beginner. 



BY F. DUNDAS TODD. 



The beginner in bee-keeping ought at the 

 very start to get acquainted with the parts 

 of a hive. If he be like the writer at the 

 outset of his bee-keeping career the novice 

 may assume that the structure in which the 

 bees are housed is a solid piece of carpentry; 

 but he will be greatly mistaken, for it con- 

 sists of about a dozen movable pieces, which 

 number is greatly increased in the active 

 months of the year — June, July, and Au- 

 gust. 



THE LANGSTROTH HIVE. 



We will, therefore, begin by studying a 

 hive as it appears on the stand. Fig. 1 may 

 be taken as a type of the average hive in 

 common use in this country to-day, though 

 there are, of course, other styles; but the 

 bee-keeping world as a whole has settled 

 down to using what is known as a Lang- 

 stroth hive, though generally called the 



FIG. 1. 



Dovetailed in catalogs. Now, if we look at 

 it even casually we see that, like a dwell- 

 ing-house, it has a roof, side walls, and a 

 foundation. These three are definite, dis- 

 tinct parts, and are essential features of ev- 

 ery modern hive. If j^ou take hold of the 

 roof you will find it to be removable, some- 

 times with a little difficulty, for the bees 

 have a habit of fastening the roof to thd 

 walls with a special kind of glue that is 

 very adhesive. In bee-keepers' language 



the roof of the bee-house is known as the 

 "cover." 



The four perpendicular walls inclose the 

 living-room of the hive, which is also at 

 once pantry, kitchen, dining-room, bed- 

 room, and nursery; for a wonderful series of 

 operations is going on in this little home 

 all at one time. But the modern bee-keep- 

 er, although he knows full well the many 

 phases of its interesting life, has come to as- 

 sociate it with the raising of the family, so 

 he usually speaks of it as the "brood-cham- 

 ber." It is also known as the "hive-body." 



FIG.l 



The foundation of the bee-house has side 

 walls like the cellar of a modern human 

 home; but since there is no floor between 

 the basement and the living-room we can 

 not give it a title corresponding to the same 

 part of our home. Bee-keepers in their 

 practical way have given the name of "bot- 

 tom-board " to this very important part of 

 a hive. 



You have been told that, in order to pre- 

 vent all decay of the bottom-board, it must 

 not rest on the ground, but upon wood, 

 brick, or stone, at a convenient height from 

 the earth. This support is called the hive- 

 stand. 



THE COVER. 



We will now examine the difi'erent parts 

 of a hive in closer detail, as, like every thing 

 else, there are important problems to be 

 solved in their construction. Take the cov- 

 er for example. At first thought one would 

 suppose any flat piece of goo I lumber would 

 do very well; but any bee-keeper will tell 

 you that very much thinking has been put 

 into designing hive-covers; nevertheless, the 

 perfect cover has not yet been invented. In 

 the first i)lace, it must be water-tight, for 

 rain must not get into the brood-chamber. 

 Then it must fit snugly on the body of the 

 hive so as to conserve the heat there, and, 

 consequently, must be prevented from 

 warping. 



The illustrations, Figs, 1, 2, 3, 4, show a 

 design that is very efficient. The pieces are 

 securely fastened by tongue and groove, the 

 joints being protected from water, by a cap. 

 Warping is prevented by cross-pieces on 

 the ends. 



