PACKING CASES 247 



One of the greatest advantages is in leaving the hives in one 

 position the entire year. Winter preparations require but a few- 

 moment's time vt^ith each hive. All that is necessary is to con- 

 tract the entrance, put the inner cover in place, place the tray 

 of chaff in position over the frames, and place the telescope cover 

 over all and the job is done. The busy man who has but a few 

 bees for diversion and who wishes to be relieved of unnecessary 

 manipulations in caring for them will find the double walled 

 hive to be ideal for his use. In fact the author feels that it is 

 the best possible hive for amateurs generally, who do not keep 

 more than twenty-five to fifty colonies. xVs to whether it will 

 pay the large producer to use this type of hive is not quite so 

 evident. Some find them satisfactory on an extensive scale, 

 while others feel that they are not suited to the use of the exten- 

 sive honey producer. 



Packing Cases. — Various kinds of packing cases have been 

 in use for many years, so the idea is not new. However, the 

 tendency of the time is to abandon cellar wintering in favor of 

 packing cases. With proper preparation bees will be safer in 

 winter cases than in a cellar and will reach the season of honey 

 flow in better condition than by any other method of wintering. 



Bees are successfully wintered in packing cases as far north 

 as Canada, and some of the most extensive honey producers have 

 abandoned expensive cellars for their use. The most common 

 plan is to pack four colonies in one box with entrances facing 

 two to the east and two to the west, or two to the south and one 

 each to the east and west. Less labor is required to prepare the 

 boxes with only two openings. !N^orth openings are not to be 

 recommended. 



Where four colonies are packed in a case, two sides of each 

 hive have the additional protection of other hives warm with 

 the clusters of bees. The colonies will thus be much warmer 

 than when packed singly. 



Several years of observation indicate to the author that bees 

 winter better in larger hives than in smaller ones. Unless the 



