CONSTRUCTION OF HIVES. 47 



rear will answer, but a ventilated gable roof with the sides well slanted 

 is far preferable. Above the sections or the upper set of frames a piece 

 of carriage cloth, enameled side down, should be laid during the summer 

 season to prevent too great escape of heat above and to keep the bees 

 from getting into the roof or propolizing it. The cloth is more suitable 

 than a board, since the latter when propolized can not be removed with- 

 out considerably jarring the bees. If the carriage cloth be weighted 

 with a board which has been clamped with a strip across each end to 

 prevent warping, there will be less propolization of the sections above 

 or building of bits of comb on the tops of the frames when these have 

 been used. To dispense with this extra piece and also to render the 

 gable cover flat on the underside, the board which rests on the car- 

 riage cloth may be nailed to the cover permanently. During very hot 

 weather the quilt may be turned back and the cover propped up. 

 . The bottom board to the hive may be nailed permanently or the hive 

 may be merely placed on it. In either case the sides and back of the 

 hive should be wide enough to come down over the edges of the bottom 

 board and thus shed all water that runs down the outside of the hive. 

 A sloping board in front will facilitate the entrance of heavily laden bees 

 and many that fall to the ground will crawl in if the hive is within 8 or 

 10 inches of the ground. Many persons place the bottom boards directly 

 on the ground, and the majority have them but 3 or 4 inches above the 

 surface. By arranging them farther from the "ground, at least C or 8 

 inches, dampness is avoided and the ease in manipulation is greatly 

 increased. English manufacturers make the Langstroth hive with per- 

 manent legs some G or 8 inches long. This is no doubt necessary in 

 the damp climate of that country, and even here the free circulation of 

 the air beneath the hive and the entrance of direct rays of sunlight at 

 times are so beneficial that there might well be a return to this valua- 

 ble feature, which was part of the original Langstroth hive. 



Great accuracy of parts must be insisted upon in hives and frames, 

 both because covers and top stories should be made to fit interchange- 

 ably, and because the bees carry out their own work with great pre 

 cision, so that ease in manipulation of combs can only be secured by 

 nice adjustment. Hives cut by machinery are therefore greatly to be 

 preferred, and though most of those kept in stock by apiarian manu- 

 facturers do not include in their construction all of the features men- 

 tioned above, they still answer in most particulars the requirements 

 of bee life, aud, if proper protection for the winter be afforded, are very 

 serviceable. 



IMPLEMENTS. 



BEE SMOKERS. 



No well appointed apiary in these days is without one or more bee 

 smokers. The professional bee keeper who has once used a bellows 

 smoker would as soon think of dispensing with this implement as a 



