GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



September, 1921 



enough to fill this end and bring it np level 

 with the back end; but I did not, as it took 

 an immense amount of earth to fill in front 

 of the front wall of the cellar. We did 

 manage to make it go by building a wall 

 all along the front, as you will see by the 

 picture, to hold, the earth back. 



The cellar is forty feet long, nine feet 

 wide and seven feet high, inside measure- 

 ments. The walls are eight inches thick, 

 and the flat concrete roof is eight inches 

 thick, reinforced the short way with minia- 

 ture railroad rails placed 20 inches apart 

 and % square rods one foot apart running 

 lengthwise. Between the rails we jjlaced 

 fence wire, iron rods, and any other material 



Interior view of unclergiouncl concrete bee-cellar. 



Note the ventilating-tube extending downward from 



the ceiline; nearly to the floor of the cellar. 



whicli we had l.ving around. The side walls 

 were built first. After digging a trench 

 about 15 inches wide and two feet deep 

 and filling it with cobbles, we poured on 

 a mixture of very soft cement and sand, 

 which when hard made a good, firm foun- 

 tlation. Our walls were made from a one- 

 to-three mixture of cement and sand, with 

 stone from an old stone wall as a filler. The 

 stone was donated by a neighbor for clean- 

 up up the wall. 



How Eoof Was Constructed. 

 After 48 hours the side walls were hard 

 enough to allow the removal of the forms, 



and we erected our form for the roof. This 

 form was constructed with the oak timbers 

 and boards, which I originally planned to 

 use for the roof. We placed three 6x6 

 timbers, cut to length, on end on a plank or 

 timber so that they would not settle in the 

 ground, one timber against each side wall 

 and one in the middle. When we ran short 

 of timbers we used 2x4's, which answered 

 just as well. On top of these timbers we 

 placed another timber running parallel with 

 the under plank. After erecting these up- 

 rights about four feet apart the whole 

 length of the cellar, we covered them with 

 one-inch oak boards, after staying each up- 

 riglit to the other. We then covered the 

 boards with one-ply tar paper, to keep the 

 cement and water from running thru the 

 cracks, as the boards were not matched 

 or planed. This form was built one inch 

 below the top of the side walls, so as to 

 allow the railroad rails to rest on the top 

 of the side walls and yet have concrete un- 

 derneath them. In taking down the form 

 the tar paper stuck to the concrete and still 

 remains, as you will notice by the picture of 

 the inside of the cellar. 



After completely covering the form with 

 concrete one inch thick and flush with the 

 top of side walls with a mixture of one-to- 

 three (no stone), wo placed our rails cross- 

 wise and filled in between them with a 

 mixture, using one inch crushed stone, tlie 

 mixture being one part cement to three of 

 sand and five of stone. It took four men 

 one whole day to mix and place four inches 

 over the entire surface. If I had realized 

 what a mammoth job I was up against, I 

 should by all means have had a concrete 

 mixer. The second day we finished the 

 roof, sloping it slightly from the center, so 

 as to shed any water that might soak thru 

 the ground. After bringing the concrete to 

 the top of the rails we laid our % bars 

 across the rails one foot apart and con- 

 tinued with the roof until finished. This 

 was allowed to harden over night and then 

 covered with one inch of building sand and 

 sprinkled three times a day to keep the sun 

 from drying it out too fast. 



At the front of the cellar we have a four- 

 foot vestibule with a door at each end. 

 After letting the concrete cure for two 

 months we took down the roof form, and 

 with a team and scraper hauled the dirt 

 back on the roof, and the cellar was ready 

 for occupancy. 



Ventilating System. 



Our ventilation system is composed of a 

 six-inch glazed-tile fresh-air intake, running 

 75 feet underground from a terrace on the 

 street and coming in at the north end of 

 the cellar. I inserted a six-inch elbow and 

 two lengths of stovepipe with a damper in 

 one length in this tile, running it to near 

 the floor. This damper is now shut, and I 

 get plenty of fresh air. 



Near each end of the cellar in the ceil- 

 ing T h:\vo a ten-inch tile running up thru 



