BEE-BOXES. 83 



CHAPTER VII. 

 BEE-BOXES. 



THERE has been some difference of opinion as to 

 the most suitable dimensions of bee-boxes. I pre- 

 fer those of Keys, which are twelve inches square 

 and nine inches deep, in the clear. The best wood 

 for them is red cedar, the fragrance of which is 

 regarded by some as agreeable to the bees ; but 

 the chief grounds of preference are its effect in 

 keeping moths out of the boxes, and its being a 

 bad conductor of heat, from its lightness and 

 sponginess. Whatever kind of wood be made 

 use of, it should be well seasoned ; yellow deal 

 answers the purpose very well. The sides of the 

 boxes should be an inch thick, and the bars on 

 the top three quarters of an inch, about an inch 

 and half wide, and six in number, which will leave 

 an interspace between each of about half an inch. 

 At the back of each box, a pane of glass should 

 be fixed in a small rabbet, which may be covered 

 with a half inch door, hung with wire hinges and 

 fastened by a button. 



