632 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



a side entrance for one part of the hive, and 

 this end-board projecting up % inch makes 

 a good alighting-board. The other part of 

 the hive — separated by a division-board, of 

 course — using the front of their half of the 

 hive there is a little less danger of the 

 queen's returning to the wrong half of the 

 hive and getting killed. 



To prevent the upper projecting edges of 

 the ends frcm warping or splitting I drive 

 tv^'O long slim nails {\0d, cement-coated) 

 into each one, as shown. 



callbreath's hive-stand. 



Why have the stand so high — 14 in. plus 

 Yz in. plus a flat stone under each leg? So 

 that the hive will be dry, the entrances less 

 likely to get stopped up in the winter when 

 a thaw is followed by a sudden freeze, and 

 so I don't have to stoop over so much when 

 working at them. Such a stand is more 

 expensive than four stakes driven into the 

 ground, but it is more convenient. (I'd 

 like to see some one drive stakes into cer- 

 tain parts of my j'ard.) It seems as though 

 frost would heave the stakes, and perhaps 

 let the hive drop down between. 



In numbering I number the stands, not 

 the hives — two numbers to each stand — 

 the odd number on the back of the stand, 

 and the even number on the front. That 

 way the number of any hive can be told 

 from either the front or back. 



Rock Rift, N. Y., June 16. 



MILLER'S CLOTH-PAPER HIVE=GOVER. 



A Good Cover. 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



Here is a description of an improvement 

 in hive-covers which I know is good. It can 

 be applied to any style of cover, but is par- 

 ticularly adapted to flat ones. 



On top of the cover lay four to six thick- 

 nesses of newspaper. Over this stretch one 

 thickness of cotton cloth (cheese-cloth is too 

 thin). To this apply a coat of thick flour 

 paste, using a paste-brush for the purpose. 

 This " sizes " and shrinks the cloth. When 

 it is dry, apply two coats of thick paint. 

 The newspaper serves the double purpose 

 of a poor or " non-conductor," and prevents 



the cloth adhering to the cover, and wrin- 

 kling and cracking with the shrinking and 

 swelling of the cover. In an attempt to get 

 a simple flat cover which would not "twist" 

 I have had some made of four strips, each 

 four inches wide, and tongued and grooved 

 together. The ends of these are held in 

 grooved cleats after the well-known man- 

 ner. 



Before the cleats are put on, the paper is 

 laid on top, and extends only to where the 

 cleats will come, but folds over the two 

 edges of the cover. The cloth is next drawn 

 tightly over the cover from end to end, and 

 the cleats forced on and nailed through 

 from top to bottom. This binds the boards 

 in tight. Then the cloth is drawn over the 

 edges and held down by a narrow strip of 

 wood. If such a cover twists I shall try 

 two-inch strips. 



The paper-cloth-paste-paint combination 

 produces a sun-and-water-proof cover which 

 takes but little paint, is quickly made, is 

 light, and exceedingly cheap. Mine cost 

 me just 11 cts. each, without the paint and 

 nails. 



The only thing in the foregoing which is 

 in any way experimental is the narrow 

 strips to get rid of the "twist." All the 

 rest has been well tried, and is all and 

 more than I have claimed for it. 



Commercially such covers should find a 

 big sale. I find that with such a covering 

 I can use common ^^-inch box lumber 

 so long as it has no loose knots. End cleats 

 are of clear pine of yi thickness and 2 in. 

 wide. 



Providence, R. I., Apr. 29. 



[This is very similar to one we have 

 made and illustrated in one of our older 

 catalogs, with the exception that the 

 board was % inch; and instead of cloth 

 for a top covering we used a heavy roofing 

 paper. We considered this a good cover, 

 and only abandoned it for one embodying 

 the same principle shown as Fig. 402 in this 

 year's catalog, made up of a double thick- 

 ness of y% boards, air-spaced between. Its 



