SEPTEMBER 15, 1916 



857 



roofing. Chaff or sawdust will do to fill the 

 space between the sides. To make (he diviis- 

 ion-board fit snug' when put into the hive, a 

 piece of burlap is made into a roll about 

 the* size of a lead-pencil, and tacked to tlie 

 two ends and bottom. 



At packing time the four hives aVe 

 placed close together, and a box holding 

 four inches of packing is fastened at each 

 end of the group as shown in the drawing. 

 Over all is placed a large cover holding G 

 inches of packing, the packing held in place 

 by burlap tacked 2 inches from the lower 



edge of tlie cover. This arrangement has 

 all the advantages of the large packing- 

 case, and none of the muss caused by loose 

 packing. The end i^acking-boxes can be set 

 up in groups of twelve, still filled with the 

 packing material, and covered during the 

 summer with one of the large winter covers. 

 The chaff-packed division-boards are very 

 useful during the summer for protecting 

 weak colonies. With this wintering ar- 

 rangement no extra bottmn is needed, as 

 with (he large-case loose-packing plan. 

 Palermo, Ont. 



WINTER PROTECTION FOR TWO CENTS A COLONY 



BY PANIEL DANXELSON 



For more than thirteen years I have lived 

 in Colorado and have tried nearly all plars 

 of wintering. I have tried the cellar but 

 that is not satisfactory here, as it is too 

 warm. T have left the colonies outdoors un- 

 protected, and in some winters they do fair- 

 ly well ; but in other winters there are se- 

 vere losses. Therefore I concluded to try 

 outdoor protection. 



For the last three years I have put my 

 hives together in the fall in long straight 

 rows, running north and south, alternating 

 the entrances east and west so there is an 

 entrance only at every other hive on the 

 same side of the row. 



T always winter my colonies in two-story 

 hives, the bees usually staying in the upper 

 story during the winter. 



I cover the whole row with felt or tar pa- 

 per, putting one roll of paper on each sid:^ 

 and folding both upper edges over the toj) 

 of the inner cover, and then i:»ut the regular 



cover above as shown in the picture, page 

 362, May 1. T nail lath on each side below 

 the cover to hold the paper in position. 

 The material for this method of protection 

 costs about two cents per colony, and the 

 labor is a very small item. For Coloi'ado I 

 find this protection is cheap and practical. 

 When the sun shines on the paper in (he 

 winter it warms it up even on a cold day. 



EASY WAY OF BUII/DING UP THE WEAK ONES. 



By removing the outer cover I can fold 

 back the paper and examine any colony that 

 I wish by removing the inner cover, after- 

 ward putting the pajDer back in position as 

 before. I leave the protection on until May. 

 when all the colonies are scattered around, 

 so as not to be in regular rows. At the time 

 I make this change, if there are any coloni.s 

 that are weak I leave them in the row tem- 

 porarily, and they catch the stray bees and 

 thereby become as strong as the rest. 



Brush, Colo. 



COMMERCIAL QUEEN-REARING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 



BY HOMF.R MATHEWSON 



The subject of this sketch, Mr. Henry 

 Pei'kins, was born in Hamilton, Oniario. 

 When but a small boy his parents emigrat- 

 ed to San Diego Co., Cal., where the father 

 is still engaged in beekeeping. 



Under the direction of his father he be- 

 came a successful beekeeper; and when the 

 ))ossibilities of Imperial Valley became 

 known he emigrated to Heber, where he 

 established the first large ai^iary in the 

 county. This venture was crowned with 

 success. The following year he shipped 

 the first car of honey from the valley. He 

 continxied to maintain a large apiary here 

 for some years. Disposing of his holdings 

 here he went to Ventura Co., Cal. Here 



he spent a year with Mr. Mendlesou, who 

 counts his colonies by the hundreds. After 

 much prospecting he finally located at 

 Artesia, Cal., and commenced the rearing 

 of queens upon a commercial scale. His 

 ajDiary is located on the banks of the San 

 Gabriel River, about a mile from the town. 

 For this industry the location is ideal. The 

 yard shown in the illustration covers about 

 four acres. The surrounding country pro- 

 duces enough honey for building colonies 

 nearly the whole season, but not enough for 

 profitable yards, hence their absence, mak- 

 ing it possible to get pure matings. 



At present Mr. Peikins has 300 (win 

 mating-boxes, and 125 single ones, making 



