1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



307 



After all had taken a good look at the pic- 

 ture, Mr. ;M. read from the description as 

 follows:— 



CHEAP HIVE FOR AMA.TEUHS. 



I send you a sketch and description of a very cheap 

 hive, which some of your readers who make their 

 own may try their hands upon. It is made out of 

 two and a half American cheese-boxes, which cost 

 rae four pence each; one loin, in diameter serves 

 for the inner skin, and one of 16 in. diameter for the 

 outer skin of the hive. (The usual depth of these 

 boxes is from 9 to 10 inches.) The Inner skin should 

 be three-eifjhths of an inch higher than the outer to 

 form the feather edge on which the frames are to 

 rest. The two skins are kept apart by a double 

 hoop ^4, of an inch wide, placed at the top and bot- 

 tom. These may be made by cutting in half the 

 hoops of the box, and as they are usually }i of an 

 Inch thick, they will keep the two skins Yi inch 

 apart, and thus form a sufflcient air space between 

 them. As strong a hoop as can bf got from the box- 

 es and lids must be put round the hive, standing 1 

 Inch above the outer skin, and another at live- 

 eighths of an inch below the outer skin. Room will 

 thus be given for the thickness of the framps and 

 quilt above, and the floor-board will be overlapped 

 below, and wet or rain excluded. The Hoor-board is 

 made from the box-lid and bottom. Thfse are usu- 

 ally in three pieces, and when nailed together 

 should be crossed under side pieces. Of these the 

 middle one should pro.ject, to form the alighting- 

 board; and the deflcieney suf>plied from any piece 

 of wood at hand. The floor-board will thus be 

 double. The upper thickness is cut away sloping 

 upward to form a siuik entrance into the hive. The 

 floor-board is represented in its place in Fig. 1, 

 which represents a section from side to side with 

 one of the middle frames in position. The hive has 

 a cover made of half a box, 5 inches in height, and 

 over this is a conical top made of pRper-felt, painted 

 and fastened with thin copper wire to the wooden 

 part; the flight-hole, porch, and slot for slides or 

 doors, which are made of strong tin or zinc bent to 

 shape. Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the frames, 

 ten in number. Half of them have distance-blocks 

 toward the front, and half toward the back, both 

 blocks being on the same side of each frame. In 'he 

 center are two movable blocks attached to the side 

 of hive by a thin but strong piece of string. When 

 manipulating they are lifted out. and thus room Is 

 given to move all the frames. The whole cost of 

 the materials, including paint, panel-nails (screws, 

 if any), and putty, is about 'Z.*., and certainly does 

 not exceed 28. Cri.; but I must add, that there is a 

 good deal of work in ihe hive, and it requires much 

 nicety in fitting, though not more than most ama- 

 teur carpenters are equal to. 



The result is a round hive, which in shape corre- 

 sponds with that of a cluster of bees, and I think is 

 dryer than the square hives. In the corners of which 

 moisture is apt to be ci ndensed; and, secondly, is 

 much more shapely and ornamental in a garden, and 

 equally adapted lor carrying' supers of any kind 

 desired. 



" There,'' said Mr. M., " they have not got 

 so near a sphere as we have, after all, and 

 the hive is a deal more expensive every way. 

 The combs wnnld handle nicely after one is 

 out, for by moving them toward the center, 

 every one" would be free, while, when in place 

 and the loose block put in, all are tight and 

 strong." 



"But,'" said John, "they have 8 frames, 

 while we have in our hive but o, and such 

 frames as those must be a great deal of 

 trouble to make." You know .John was 

 some thing of a genius, and knew the ex- 

 pense of whittling out things. 



" Nevertheless," remarked Mr. M., " I am 

 very glad to see this description, for it indi- 

 cates a wish, on the psirt of the people, to 

 make common implements and utensils serve 

 a part in providing habitations and inijile- 

 meiits for the care and comfort of our queer 

 little domestic friends. Many thanks to the 

 editor of the J5. B. /." And "he gathered up 



the journal, and put it in one of his many 

 pockets, grabbed up Mary, and, placing her 

 on one of his broad shoulders, started out in 

 the darkness of the night, amid her protests 

 and the laughter of tlie whole family. Be- 

 fore he had gone many steps, however — 

 come to think of it, I guess I will tell what 

 an awful muss they got into by some more 

 of that boy John's ■' everlasting careless- 

 ness," next month. 



GIEAWIMGS IN BEE CULTURE^ 



-A.. I. I^OOT, 

 EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, 



MEDINA, O. 



TERmS: $1.C0 PER YEAR, POST-PAID. 



FOR CLUBBING RATEff, SEE FIRST PAGE 

 OF READING MATTER. 



TsacESTDu^.A^, jxjoxn: x, leoi. 



The wages of sin is death.— Rom.vx.s 6:23. 



We have to-day 4329 subscribers, orders are 

 filled pretty nearly up to date, and I am in a thank- 

 ful frame of mind. 



We can furnish Spider and Simpson plants for 25c. 

 per hundred by mail, postpaid, done up in the man- 

 ner indicated on page 27". Daniel Speer, of Card- 

 ington, Morrow Co., O., writes that he has thousands 

 of Spider plants, and he will doubtless furnish them 

 at the same price. 



One good thing has grown out of the loss of our 

 bees, at any rate. It has obliged others to take up the 

 trade of selling bees by the pound, and rapidly de- 

 veloped the new industry that seems to me is going 

 to teach us a lesson of helping each other, in a way 

 we were never taught it before. 



A few of the supply dealers still show a little too 

 much of the spirit, "you know you can't please 

 everybody." If I should hear you say, "The world 

 in general are not very hard to please," I should feel 

 much more certain you were trying to be honest and 

 just toward all. 



May 26th. — We have to-day 145 colonies, and the 

 last box hive was transferred this morning by get- 

 ting up before 5 o'clock, to avoid robbers. AUorders 

 are filled, except for pounds of bees with dollar 

 queens. We have the bees, but can't get the queens, 

 although a great number are ready to laj'. 



We have finally got a very good pair of steel specs 

 on our 10c. counter. The glasses are good, and the 

 frames nice and well made. In ordering, you had 

 better have them sent, for safety, in a 5c. case. Pos- 

 tage on the whole will be 5c, making 20 for the whole 

 complete by mail. Tell the number of the glasses 

 you wear, if you can; if not. tell me your age, and I 

 can guess pretty well what you will be likely to need. 



The revised edition of the New Testament is out, 

 and the Gospel of St. John is now before me. The 

 price of the latter is 2c ; postage Ic more. The whole 

 Testament 10c, postage probably 3c more. I have 

 not got any yet, but I have been having a real fight 

 to get some to supply you, and will doubtless have 



