THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



51 



ditch, and four or five feet above top of 

 the groLiad. About eight inches of the 

 lower part of the inside boards of the 

 ventilators are cut off, so that the foul 

 air can escape. Wire netting is tacked 

 on top of the ventilators to keep out 

 mice. The ditch is then covered up by 

 laying sticks and boards across, upon 

 which straw is laid ; then all is covered 

 up with dirt, the same as you would cov- 

 er up ])otatoes. 



Then over the dirt is a thin covering 

 of straw or manure, extending three or 

 foar feet around from the ditch to hold 

 the frost, till the surface water in the 

 spring runs off. 



WHICH WAY SHOULD HIVES FACE? 



It is the general belief, or at least the 

 common practice, to have the entrance 

 toward the south. 



While there may be some reasons for 

 this practice, I think any other point as 

 goo(l if not better. A southern en- 

 trance is more likely to entice the bees 

 out in the spring, or late in the fall 

 when the weather is too cool for bees 

 to fly, and when it would be better that 

 they remain in the hive. 



In the heat of summer, too, a south- 

 ern entrance is most undesirable. It is 

 more difiicult to shade that side when 

 accommodation for flying:bees is needed. 



An eastern entrance is quite objec- 

 tionable. It. is the point toward the 

 morning sun, and perhaps bees may see 

 the light a little earlier in the morning 

 during the honey season. 



I have used a north front with a good 

 deal of satisfaction. It is cool in sum- 

 mer. The hive is easily shaded. In 

 summer the morning sun shines first on 

 the north side of the hive. The en- 

 trance can be entirely closed on cool 

 days in the spring, if the north wind 

 blows. I prefer a north entrance to a 

 south. — E. Secor, in Fanner and 

 Breeder. 



Write short articles for the Apicul- 



TURIST. 



COLORADO BEEKEEPERS-' ASSOCIA- 

 TION. 



On January i8th and 19th, 1892, a 

 large and enthusiastic gathering of the 

 memljers of the Colorado Beekeepers' 

 Association from all over the state as- 

 sembled in the Chamber of Commerce 

 in Denver for mutual conference and 

 improvement. 



Reports of successes and failures 

 showed that last season was not a very 

 profitable one in the production of 

 honey, owing to excessive rain in some 

 localities and dry weather in others. 

 Beekeepers also have obtained 125 to 

 150 lbs. of marketable honey per colony 

 spring count, in other years, reported 

 only sixty to ninety lbs. for last summer, 

 and many but twenty- five to forty. 

 Harry Knight of Littleton, has been ac- 

 customed to have six to eight tons of 

 honey to dispose of each season, but this 

 winter has hardly half as much. 



Some of the interesting questions 

 discussed at this meeting were : How 

 best to stamp out foul brood from an 

 infected apiary. Is it more profitable 

 to run an apiary for comb honey than for 

 extracted ? \Vhat is the best method of 

 wintering bees in Colorado? how to 

 prevent swarming ; what is the cost per 

 pound of producing honey? what is the 

 best honey-producing plant in Colo- 

 rado? is beekeeping a suitable occupa- -| 

 tion for ladies ? | 



The answers to these questions were j 



exceedingly varied caused in many in- | 



stances by diverse conditions in differ- '\ 

 ent localities. The lady members af- 

 firmed that beekeeeing was an admir- 

 able occupation for the gentle sex. 

 Alfalfa, a species of clover adapted to 

 the and regions, was a general favorite 

 because of the abundance of the nectar i 

 it secretes, the delicious flavor of the '. 



honey gathered from it, and the attrac- 

 tive appearance of the well filled section ' 

 boxes. The Rocky Mountain bee plant, ] 

 ( Cleome integrifo/ia) had numerous 

 friends as a honey producer, and the Sal- 

 via lanceolata, a species of mountain 

 sage, is known to afford excellent bee 



