October, 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



621 



away from the boards to allow the weather 

 strip a place behind it. Wonderful rigidity 

 and solidity of the case are tlius attninod 

 very simply. 



The entire inner surface of the case is 

 covered with building-paper fastened |on 

 Avith lath. This is to prevent the fine saw- 

 dust from absorbing a bit of dampness, 

 even from the atmosphere. Sawdust (fine 

 sawdust especially), such as we desire and 

 use, is the ideal packing material; but, as 

 everybody knows, it is most prone to ab- 

 sorb moisture if there is any within a hun- 

 dred miles or less; hence our precaution in 

 regard to building-paper. 



Pig. 3. — One end of case lemuved showing hives 



in place. Note liow sides are supported by the 2 



X 2-inch pieces which support the hives. 



Our experience with cleats of % stuff for 

 the framework has been unsatisfactory. 

 The end or side pieces often bulge out in 

 the middle when the packing is tramped 

 down tight. Planer shavings in particular 

 required to be rammed down very firmly 

 between the sides and the ends of the hives 

 and the case; and such pressure often 

 strains the cases not held by more than 

 %-thick cleats at the top and bottom. Two 

 2x2 cleats, made of pine, are not heavy 

 but they are extremely firm and rigid. The 

 lower cleat on the side pieces of the case 

 is nailed at the proper height from the 

 lower edge, to permit it to rest on top 

 of the 2x4's used for hive-supports (Fig. 

 3), thus forming a support for the side 

 ])ieces which telescope down over the bot- 

 tom of the winter case. 



Advantages of Perpendicular Siding. 



During the recent war it was practically 

 impossible in most localities to secure lum- 

 ber dry enough not to check and shrink 

 when exposed to drying weather. Cracks 

 often formed in packing-cases built of such 

 materials, and leaking resulted when the 

 boards ran horizontally; and even since the 

 "dove of peace" has flown all over the 

 lands, and old-time conditions are return- 

 ing, it is still hard enough to get well-dried 

 lumber. The difficulty here named forced 

 us to resort to the use of perpendicular 

 boards in making cases, and with the most 

 complete satisfaction, for considerable 

 checking can occur and still the case re- 



mains absolutely water-proof. Water will 

 follow down a crack and run off at the 

 bottom; but it will stop and run into the 

 case if the same-sized cracks run horizon- 

 tally. The sawdust in our cases has re- 

 mained bone-dry up to the present time, 

 and that, too, when the cases stand out in 

 the open, winter and summer. 



Rigidity of the Case. 

 Enough has already been said here about 

 the firmness of this case. Not only will it 

 stand handling, packing, and unpacking, 

 but it goes together with a perfect fit- — an 

 item of no mean importance when the time 

 of assembling is charged against the opera- 

 tion. 



We use the regulation six-inch telescop- 

 ing cover topped with tarred paper that is 

 nailed well down over the boards on the 

 ends and sides of the cover. The sides and 

 ends of the case in turn telescope down 

 over the bottom of the case. 



Our runways (Fig. 4) are made of % 

 stuff for strength and durability, with the 

 customary division cleat in the middle, to 

 separate the two hive-entrances. They run 

 the full width of the hive entrances. Most 

 of our packing material consists of fine 

 planer shavings mixed with about an equal 

 volume of fine dry pine sawdust — a com- 

 bination that "likes us well." We sack up 



4. — Entrance tunnel in position. This tunnel 

 i. inch deep to correspond with the "« inch 

 aug\ir holes opening to the out.>ide. 



all the packing material when the bees are 

 unpacked in the spring, and the filled sacks 

 are set in the cases ready for fall use. It 

 is thus a very easy operation to set out 

 sacks, set in hives, put in packing, and 

 close the cases. The sacks are then tied up 

 in bundles of 25 each, and carefully put 

 away. We used to lay them in the cases on 

 top of the packing; but an occasional preda- 

 tory mouse, that does now and then get in, 

 chewed so many holes in our precious gunny 

 sacks that we now take more care to guard 

 them from rodents. We pack six to seven 

 inches around the hives, and our cases are 

 high enough to allow 12 or 14 inches of 

 packing above even a two-story hive, and 

 24 inches above a one-story hive. 

 Ashtabula. 0. 



