ESCAPES 179 



not tend to economy of time or labor. If the beginner who 

 expects his business to grow will plan his honey house so that 

 additions are easily built on, he will be wise. 



Floor. — A cement floor is very desirable, as it is much easier 

 to make the building proof against rats and mice. N^either 

 should be tolerated in the honey house, as they are the source of 

 great annoyance and damage. Mice will destroy many dollars 

 worth of extracting combs, unless they are stored beyond the 

 reach of the rodents. A cement floor also makes a better foun- 

 dation for fast-running machinery. 



Doors and Windows. — The windows should be tightly 

 screened to keep out flies and bees, but the doors are better 

 without screens. If the doors are screened, they will be left 

 open when the extracting is going on, and large numbers of bees 

 are likely to collect on the screens in an effort to get in. Every 

 time the screen is opened a few of them will dodge in, with the 

 result that a constantly increasing number are flying about, which 

 is annoying to the bee-keeper and bad for the bees. If only the 

 windows are screened, the doors will be kept closed excepting 

 when necessary to pass in or out, and the bees collecting on the 

 outside will gather at the windows where they will be unable to 

 enter. 



Escapes. — Bees that are carried into the honey house will 

 naturally fly to the windows in an effort to escape. At the top 

 of every window should be provided an escape which will permit 

 them to get out, but which will turn those on the outside which 

 may try to get in. 



A good method is to place strips of lath under the wire screen, 

 thus holding them out a quarter of an inch from the building. 

 If these strips extend about six or eight inches above the top of 

 the window, and the screeti extends as far, the space under the 

 screen may be left open at the top. The bees on the inside will 

 walk up and out, while those outside will not go much above the 

 window opening and will not find their way in. 



Another method is to leave several wrinkles in the screen 



