

39th YEAR- 



CHICAGO, ILL, AUGUST 10, 1899, 



No, 32, 



A Useful Hive-Tent and Comb-Rack. 



BY K. FRANCB. 



THE hive-tent is 10 feet square, 7 feet hig-h, with cover- 

 ing' made of cheese-cloth. The top is made separate 

 from the sides, and the sides and top are fastened to- 

 gether with snaps and rings, leaving an open space of two 

 inches all around the top to let out bees that leave the hives 

 that we are at work with. The sides come 

 down tight to the ground. 



To get in and out of the tent, raise 

 one side high enough to go under by stoop- 

 ing, then drop the side down ag-ain. 



We use the tent in the spring-time to 

 clip queens, when fruit-trees and dande- 

 lions are in blossom, or at any time when 

 the bees will rob, when there is no honey 

 coming in. 



To make the frame : The corner posts 

 are made by ripping a 2x4 pine ; dress the 

 pieces smooth, then dress off the corners, 

 leaving them 8 square, except 6 inches at 

 the top and a foot at the bottom, which 

 leave square. Bore a half-inch hole in the 

 center of the top of the post down 6 inches, 

 and put a staple near the top to tie the 

 brace-ropes ; put another staple near the 

 bottom for the same purpose — to hold the 

 brace-ropes. We use a fs-inch rope. Now 

 we want five pieces of g-ood pine, 2 inches 

 wide and % thick, to go around the top — 

 one of them across the middle to hold up 

 the center of the cover. Bore a half-inch 

 hole thru all of the pieces 1 '4 inches from 

 the ends; get six ^4 -inch bolts 6 inches 

 long. Lay the 2-inch strips on top of the 

 posts, and drop in thru the strips and 

 down into the posts at each corner, one of 

 the bolts. For the center strip we have a 

 half-inch hole in the middle of two of the 

 side-strips, with a bolt in each end. 



We must fasten the tent to the ground. 

 Get four pieces of ^-inch round iron 22 

 inches long ; bend one end at right angles 4 inches, and 

 sharpen the other end. Now we want two staples for each 

 post — one about two inches up from the bottom, the other 

 one above it about 6 inches. Leave the staples out far 

 enough to drop in one of the stake-pins, then put your foot 

 on the top of the pin and push it into the ground. Those 

 pins are all that we want to hold the tent, with those brace- 

 ropes inside. Put on the cover and it is ready for work. 



The illustration shows the tent with one corner hitcht 

 up on the top of the post. A pretty big hive-tent, but it is 

 none too big for our use. We use a large hive, that holds 

 four colonies, and with four men and our traps to work 

 with, the tent is about right. We used to use an 8-foot tent, 

 but it was too small. 



To move the tent, one man at each corner, pull up the 

 pins, take hold of the post and lift it up and walk off with 

 it to where it is wanted ; set it down, put one foot on the 

 pin, push it into the ground, and we are ready for work. • 



The comb-rack is built of 2x4 inch upright timbers, and 

 1x4 inch boards on the sides. The picture shows the comb- 

 rack to store extracting-combs in during winter. Several 

 Wisconsin bee-keepers that save their combs in this way 

 are able to produce tons of choice honey each in a single 

 season. Grant Co., Wis. 



[See illustration of the comb-rack on next page. — Ed.] 



Mr. E. France and Hive-Tent. 



Barrels as a Honey-Package, Once More. 



BY C. P. D.A.DANT. 



I SEE that Cogitator does not at all like honey-barrels, 

 and so pokes fun at me for taking the part of the dis- 

 carded vessel. (See page 453.) But I do not believe that 

 Cogitator has as much experience with honey-packages as 

 I have, setting aside all modesty, of which I have no great 



