1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



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and those who have occasion to erect buildings are 

 usually constrained to have the work done as the 

 builders think best, and perhaps 1 ick the courage to 

 have any thing done out of the common, lest the 

 neighbors should smile or frown on their folly. It is 

 difficult to assign any other reason why this wonder- 

 fully excellent style does not more prevail. Bee- 

 keepers are progressive men, and those who hesitate 

 to put up those expensive and uusatisfactorj' struc- 

 tures of wood, stone, or brick, may perhaps be will- 

 ing to look into this matter and give this method a 

 fair trial. It is not here set forth as wholly novel or 

 original, as the gravel wall has been used in some 

 parts of the country for thirty or forty years, and 

 the octagon form well developed during a shorter 

 period. The whole process has been carefully 

 studied andworkcd out; and the writer of this paper 

 Is prepared to furnish to bee-men on application, at 

 small expense, complete drawings and specifications, 

 so that any common-sense man can put the thing up 

 in a few weeks if he has two or three stout men to 

 shovel and wheel his material. Cost of lumber, 

 lime, and other things, will vary; but the relative 

 expense will be the same, or nearly so, everywhere. 

 So one can figure up at once and count the cost, and 

 can secure a nice cosy place in which he can do his 

 work and keep his wares, and wonder that so little 

 outlay should go so far. 



METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION. 



Many important details must here be omitted, but 

 can be furnished in full to those wishing to build. 

 For foundation, dig a trench three or four feet, to 

 avoid frost ; a foot wide or less will do, if not so dif- 

 ficult to dig; of course, the thicker this wall is, the 

 more material is required. Above ground the ma- 

 terial is shoveled into boxes or troughs made of 

 boards a foot or more in width, set up on edge where 

 the outside and inside of the wall is to be, eight of 

 those the length of the wall outside, and eight short- 

 er inside. These are properly braced so as not to 

 spread, and the mixture soon becomes dry enough 

 to stand alone, and the boards are set up on top, and 

 another course in same manner. 



Here are some figures for those who have not giv- 

 en much attention to this subject: To every bushel 

 of unslacked lime, provide twenty bushels of sand 

 and other materials. Sand and lime alone will do, 

 but will require larger proportion of lime, and take 

 much longer to set. It will be safe to reckon the 

 bushel as a cubic foot, and these are the contents of 

 an octagon of 10 ft:— 



Foundation wall, 80 ft. round. S'/j ft. high, - :>80 cu. ft. 

 Main story. 80 ft. round. 9 ft. high, and 8 



in. thick (less door and windows). - - 450 " " 

 Upper stfirj , 80 ft., 8 ft. high. 6 in. thick, 



deducting space of four windows, ' - 300 " " 

 Central shaft, or chimney, 2 ft. sq., - - - 100 " " 

 (If basement is wanted, make contents 



of wall 530 cu. ft.) 

 Floor (either basement or main floor), - 200 " " 



Total solid feet, or bushels. - - - 1330 cu. ft. 

 of which 1-20 Is lime, say 70 bushels. 

 Floor timbers, 2x8, ... - 260 ft. in length. 

 Rafters, - - 2x8, - - - - lOO ft. in length. 

 Floor about 500 feet surface, roof about 700, planed 

 and matched, no cciZina, roof tinned; chimney car- 

 ried well above the roof, surmounted by a ventilator 

 and weather-vane In form of a " golden queen-bee." 

 If the sides be longer, one story will give plenty of 

 raom, and save expense of one floor, stairs, and win- 

 dows; the concrete floor only being needed. The 

 building, however, would look rather low, while the 

 two-story would be far more sightly, and the chim- 



ney being higher would have better draft. Still, 

 there are many advantages in the one story, and I 

 am pretty sure I should build mine so; and by a cu- 

 pola and rather high chimnej% and perhaps steeper 

 roof, redeem in some degree the defect above 

 named. 



I have had some knowledge and experience in this 

 method, but never have seen it applied to a honey- 

 house. I shall be glad to advise with any one wish- 

 ing to give it a fair trial. D. F. Savage. 



Medina, Ohio, Dec. 5, 1882. 



Thanks for your suggestions, friend S. In 

 many respects I should think it would be 

 quite desirable to have a honey-house made 

 of artificial stone, in the way that you sug- 

 gest ; but if I am correct, such structures 

 have not met Avith very much favor in the 

 years that have passed since they have been 

 suggested. I do not know whether it is be- 

 cause they are more expensive than it would 

 seem from the descriptions that have been 

 given of the methods of making them, or 

 whether it is because they are not dry or 

 durable, or. something of that kind. It 

 would seem some different arrangement 

 would be required for comb honey, if we are 

 to ripen it by the heat of the sun, as 

 friend Doolittle directs. Some years ago I 

 was much taken up with the idea of making 

 a building nearly round ; but after building 

 our house apiary on the hexagonal plan, my 

 ardor has somewhat abated. Of course, we 

 built all of lumber, and the extra work re- 

 quired to fit floors and roof, and working 

 around the corners, was pretty expensive, 

 compared to what would be required on or- 

 dinary rectangular buildings. lias anybody 

 a cement or artificial building in use, such 

 as friend Savage describes, and how does it 

 please? Is the expense so much less than 

 stone and brick buildings? Perhaps I 

 should remark, that friend Savage has 

 brought us some very fine drawings and dia- 

 grams, to illustrate his plan; but I hardly 

 think it worth while to have them engraved 

 before we have some further suggestions in 

 regard to the matter. 



Here are some more ideas about honey- 

 houses: — 



SUGGESTIONS IN KEGAKD TO A HONEY-HOUSE. 



I write to give you a description of my contem- 

 plated plan for a honey-house, shop, extracting- 

 room, and bee-cellar in one. Our repository for 

 comb honey is a room 8 x 20 feet, with shelves 2 feet 

 deep on two sides, 20 feet long, 10 inches apart, hav' 

 ing sufficient room to store 8000 or 9000 lbs. of honey. 

 There is a table between these cupboards, or repos- 

 itories, 3 X 14 feet on top, S'A ft. high. A stove is in 

 the cellar, and a pipe connecting it with this room 

 for fumigation; and if it is not desirable to smoke 

 the whole room, the honey can be stacked over this 

 pipe, and a tight-fltting box set over the whole. The 

 table Is for assorting and packing honey. This room 

 occupies one-half of the building above the cellar. 

 The other half is the shop or repository for extracted 

 or sealed combs. This shop-room is also used for ex- 

 tracting. The brood-comb repository is composed 

 of racks one foot apart, up and down, two feet deep, 

 holding about 18 combs, or in all about 2000. The 

 whole building is 20 x 24 ft., 13 ft. to rafters from the 

 ground. The cellar is 4 ft. under ground, and 4 feet 

 above ground. That below ground is cemented on 



