430 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



last a good many yeai-s without too fre- 

 quent painting. Lightness is a desirable 

 feature, but difficult to get if all the other 

 requirements are filled. 



The cover I am about to describe fills the 

 bill completely except as to lightness. Those 

 for eight-frame hives weigh 8 lbs. as I make 

 them. I make a rim of %-inch cypress 

 boards II/2 inches deep, the same width as 

 the hive, and 1^ inches longer. The end 

 cleats of this rim are made two inches wide, 

 rabbeted on one edge % x % inch. The sides 

 of the rim are rabbeted % x % on one edge, 

 so that, when the rim is nailed together, %- 

 inch cypress boards will fit inside the rab- 

 bets for a ceiling, with no edges or ends of 



the boards exposed to the weather. The 

 extra width of the end cleats is allowed to 

 project on the under side to shed water. 

 After the ceiling boards are in place the 

 inch or so of space is filled with packing, 

 and a top of %-inch boards is nailed on, 

 with the grain ininning opposite to those 

 underneath. I put the ceiling boards cross- 

 wise of the hive, because the short boards 

 will not be inclined to warp. Those for the 

 top are placed lengthwise. The whole affair 

 is covered with the best gi'ade of asphalt 

 roofing, or, better, with galvanized iron. 

 Ihe exposed wood is painted. It is rather 

 hard to describe, and somewhat hard to 

 make, unless one has some kind of circular 

 saw. I make them on a Barnes saw, and 

 they cost me about 20 cents each for mate- 

 rial. They could be made and sold at a 

 profit for 50 cents each. I would gladly 

 give a dollar each for them rather than use 

 tiny other cover that I have ever seen. 

 Newman, 111. 



A NEW YORK VETEMAN BEEKEEPER 



BY ARNOLD IRISH 



I send a picture of a beekeeper who has 

 been in the business for 50 years. He and 

 his brother owned the first extractor in this 

 town. This yard contained 150 colonies be- 

 fore European foul brood came, which all 



but wiped it put of existence. Italian bees 

 saved the remnant. They certainly clean up 

 the foul stuff all right — at least they did 

 around here. 



Lawton Sta., N. Y. 



An apiary in which only the Italians survived European foul brood. 



