1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



631 



A CONVENIENT AND SERVICEABLE HIVE-STAND. 



How it Works in Connection with a General Sys- 

 tem. 



BY JOHN S. CALLBREATH. 



I send you a sketch and measurements of 

 the double hive-stand I have used since 

 189vS. It is made of fencing, 7-inch boards, 

 and 2X4"s. It will hold two double-vpalled 

 hives or three single-walled. It is a part 

 of a system. I have all queens that are 

 laying clipped, one hive of bees on each 

 stand. When the colony swarms, I pick 



with them. I usually cover up the old hive 

 any way, to be on the safe side. 



With clipped queens and double hive- 

 stands it isn't necessary either to climb 

 trees or carry heavy hives in order to hive 

 the swarm on the old stand. A boy twelve 

 years old can do the whole thing. 



The double hive stand especially fits in 

 with the forced -swarm method, as the bee- 

 keeper can not only slide the old hive to a 

 new stand (the other half), and so save the 

 work of carrying it, but the old hive is in 

 the handiest place possible for a second 

 and third shake of the young bees in the 

 old hive to the new swarm. 



CALLEKEATH'S hive-stand in use, with ALIGHTINC-BOARDS. 



up the queen and cage her; and after put- 

 ting the cage in a shady place, I slide, not 

 lift, the hive to the other end of the stand. 

 Place the empty hive in the place of the 

 old hive; and when the swarm begins to 

 come back to its old place, liberate the 

 queen and swarm, and the queen will 

 march into the new hive. If the bees are 

 blacks or hybrids it may be necessary to 

 cover the old hive over with a sheet or 

 something to keep the returning field-bees 

 from finding it and setting up a call, and 

 so persuade a part of the swarm to go in 



Why have the legs so large and on the 

 outside? So that the stand is stronger and 

 there is less danger of its being tipped 

 over by frost heaving, etc. I had to learn 

 that by a costly experience. 



Why have the front and back pieces Yz 

 inch higher than the top of the legs? So 

 that the bottom-board of a single-walled 

 hive can be slid clear up to the end-board. 



Why have the end-board project above 

 the front and back pieces? So that there 

 is less danger of sliding the hive clear off. 

 Also, sometimes in raising queens I have 



