606 



west, and the hives should be placed under it in two 

 rows with the entrances facing outside. In this way 

 the hives will be shaded all day. — Ed.] 



A Combination Cover 



The cover shown in the accompanying illustration 

 has many advantages over the old-style cover that 

 more than compensate for any additional cost of con- 

 struction. It was my idea to afford a complete and 

 thorough system of ventilation and to decrease the 

 time necessary to empty the super of bees. 



INSIDE 



FLOOR 

 AND OPENING FOR SLIDE, 



CONE VENT 

 C 

 SLIDE 



The general construction of the cover is on the 

 same principle as that of a gabled house — peaked 

 roof and flat floor. The bee-escape from the super 

 is a hole cut in the center of the floor that is ar- 

 • ranged with a sliding cover, perforated so as to per- 

 mit a free passage of air, and is attached to a strip 

 that extends to the front end or gable of the cover. 

 This strip is placed in a slot, which makes it possible 

 to open or doge the escape by simply withdrawing or 

 inserting the strip. The escape is of sufficient size 

 to permit emptying the super in three or four hours, 

 whereas it usually takes twenty-four hours. There 

 is a ventilator in each gabled end, one being cone- 

 shaped, and acting as an escape from the cover. 

 A beekeeper who had been troubled with his founda- 

 tion in the brood-nest melting during the hot summer 

 months, with the old-style cover, gave this cover a 

 severe test, and declares that this system of ventila- 

 tion is the best he has ever seen. 



Where it is found necessary to feed the bees, the 

 feeder may be placed under the roof of the cover. 

 Opening the escape from the super the bees may 

 enter the cover, and feed, and return to the hive. 

 Closing the gable escape insures against theft by 

 " robbers," and keeps the home bees from leaving the 

 hive. 



Altoona, Pa., Feb. 2. Matthew Kearney. 



[Except for the bee-escape feature and floor of the 

 cover proper, the style here shown is quite old. If 

 the two gable boards are made of % lumber, as we 

 presume they are, to reduce weight, they will give 

 trouble. We have discarded from our own yards 

 several hundreds of this type of cover. The %-inch 

 board will shrink and split as well as curl up, and 

 such a cover will always leak if given two or three 

 years of usage, out in the open. The only satisfac- 

 tory way to make a double cover like this is to use 

 metal or paper to cover the whole top. In fact, good 

 roofing-papers, if carefully used, will do good service 

 for ten or twelve years. 



Our correspondent does not explain how he puts 

 the feeder into this cover. In the absence of any 

 statement to the contrary we will assume that the 

 floor is removable in some way. The plan of having 

 cone escapes on the end of the cover is not new. It 

 has been used very largely on this type of cover. — 

 Ed.] 



Why tlie Paint Blistered on the Hives 



I have had your double-wall hives out of doors for 

 several years- — three winters, to be exact. This 

 spring I found the paint on the outside of all the 

 hives had blistered. The natural explanation would 

 be that the moisture traveled through from the inside. 

 Do you think this possible? Have you any explan- 

 ation to offer regarding this condition? The hives 

 were sheltered from moisture during the winter, as 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURK 



they had a frame, at least 8 to 10 inches away from 

 them on all sides, of black building-paper stretched 

 on a wooden framework, and I am at a loss to un- 

 derstand why this should happen. The dampness on 

 the ground underneath certainly would not cause 

 this. The hives have been painted every year, but 

 this moisture is between the bottom coat of paint and 

 the wood. 



FEEDING ARTIFICIAL POLLEN. 



In regard to spring feeding, last spring I fed the 

 bees one-third flaxseed without oil, one-third graham 

 flour, and one-third rye flour. The flaxseed seemed 

 to draw the bees, as they did not take kindly to the 

 pollen until this was put in. However, when the 

 flaxseed was added they took it up in bunches. I 

 put a small tin pan in the hive, 4 inches in diameter 

 and % deep, and found they took it up much quick- 

 er this way than if placed outside. Besides, they 

 could get at it in all kinds of weather. 



New York, N. Y. M. J. Kaufmann. 



[It is hardly possible that the moisture from the 

 cluster of bees would pass through the inner wall of 

 a double-wall hive, through the packing material, and 

 then again through the outer wall. In fact, we would 

 say it is utterly impossible. The explanation for the 

 paint peeling off is probably due to the fact that the 

 wood of which the hive was made was not entirely 

 dry, or had become damp through exposure to mois- 

 ture. Again, the paint might be at fault. Many of 

 the cheap ready-made paints contain fish-oil or an in- 

 ferior grade of linseed oil. The oil itself is the me- 

 dium for holding the paint on to the wood; and. the 

 oil, if in any way defective, would account for your 

 trouble. But in most cases the blistering is due to 

 an excess of moisture in the wood. — Ed.] 



Some Questions 



The spring flow here has been a failure. I have 

 75 colonies of bees, and harvested about 200 lbs. of 

 surplus. 



1. Will it do to divide the colonies for increase? 

 There do not seem to be many di-ones flying. The 

 bees are killing and driving them out. 



2. Will they have time to build up for the fall flow 

 which begins about the last of July or first of Au- 

 gust? 



3. How much sugar will it take to build up each 

 colony ? I want to divide each colony once. What 

 is the best method? 



4. I have no queens to give them. They will have 

 to raise their own. In that case would you advise 

 me to divide? They are very populous colonies? 



I like bee culture, and am going to devote all my 

 time to it when I have enough colonies. 



Uniontown, Ky., June 15. J. C. Lineback. 



[1. Since you have fall honey-flows it will be safe 

 for you to divide or increase. As soon as increase 

 is made, begin feeding a syrup of two parts water 

 to one part granulated sugar at the rate of about one 

 pint daily per colony. This can best be done by the 

 use of the Boardman entrance-feeder, and should be 

 kept up until the fall flows begin. 



3. The amount of sugar which it will take for 

 each colony depends so much upon conditions that it 

 is very hard to give you an estimate. For the pe- 

 riods during which you feed for stimulation you 

 should count on not less than four ounces of sugar 

 per day for each colony. After the honey-flows come 

 on it wUl not be necessary to carry on the stimula- 

 tive feeding, and later in the fall, after the flowers 

 are all gone, if the bees have not gathered sufficient 

 to carry them over winter you will need to feed for 

 that purpose. The Alexander plan of increase and 

 "shook" swarming are the two most popular methods 

 used. We can recommend either one. 



4. The divided colonies will raise queens of their 

 own ; but you can not expect queens raised under 

 such circumstances to be as good as when better 

 methods are used. Your best plan would be to take 

 one of your strong colonies and rear the queens that 

 you need by some modern method. — Ed. ] 



