14 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



January 



els are left in two pairs, collapsed 

 and placed into the cover. 



The extreme dimension of the bot- 

 tom-hoard is 24 I 4x20, and of the 

 dovetailed hive 20xl6j4. 



At a certain time I concluded to 

 have uniformity in bottom-boards 

 throughout and adopted this (orig- 

 inal) Buckeye board. I use it also 

 with the Lewis Champion Hives, and 

 not having had enough double-walled 

 hives, because of unexpected in- 

 crease, I used the same bottom- 

 boards with single-walled hives, both 

 dovetailed and home-made. I have 

 never seen any disadvantage from 

 the overlap (in summer) of the bot- 

 tom-board (at sides and in front) be- 

 yond the single-walled hive bodies; 

 in fact, as likely as not, my most pro- 

 ductive colonies have happened to be 

 in single-walled hives so adjusted. 



I have boards that in summer I use 

 for shade and in winter for wind- 

 breaks. In very hot weather re- 

 moval of both bottom-board blocks 

 seems scarcely sufficient for ventila- 

 tion required; I then supplement by 

 setting lower (comb) super an inch 

 or so back of top of hive-body, the 

 gap thus provided always fills the 

 bill for ventilation. 



Directions for making the winter 

 case : 



When used with dovetail 10-frame 

 hive and Buckeye bottom-board, use 

 Ji-inch stuff and strips for the pan- 

 els 2x^4 inch. 



Side panels : Vertically 20J4 inches. 

 Length 24^ inches. Outside (upper) 

 side slats, 2A~/% inches and i l A inches 

 from top. Inside (lower) side slats, 

 233/8 inches and 2*4 inches from bot-" 

 torn, 24 inches off from margin. 

 Hinge blocks (2x4), 2 inches from 

 top and J4 inches off from margin. 



Back panel: Goes inside of side 

 panels; vertically 20% inches, width 

 20 inches. Outside (upper) slat over- 

 laps $i at end (2'/ 2 inches long). In- 

 side (lower) slat, 20 inches (flush). 

 Hinge blocks, flush and 2 inches from 

 top. 



Front panel: Goes inside of side 

 panels, vertically 18 inches, width 26 

 inches ; top rim of same goes even 

 with the other panels. Slats and hinge 

 blocks, same as for back panel. 



Cover, out of §<£ in. stuff, S 1 /* in. 

 deep, will just be filled up by the 

 panels collapsed. Galvanized sheet 

 or white asbestos roofing. 



Ulster, Pa. 



BEEKEEPERS BY THE WAY 



Dr. J. H. Merrill, Mrs. 

 Merrill, of Kansas 



It requires a peculiar type of man to 

 be a successful teacher of beekeep- 

 ing. He must be, not only an expert 

 beekeeper, familiar with all the in- 

 tricate manipulations necessary to 

 make honey production successful 

 under varying conditions, but he 

 must be an enthusiast who is capa- 

 ble of arousing and sustaining the in- 

 terest of his students. 



Dr. J. H. Merrill, of the Kansas Ag- 

 ricultural College, measures up to 

 this standard very nicely. One does 

 not look far in Kansas without see- 



Merrill and the "kiddies." 

 ing some effect of his influence. As 

 State Apiarist he is responsible for 

 the bee inspection in the State, in ad- 

 dition to the teaching and experi- 

 mental work at the college. The work 

 has not been long under way, but is 

 being developed in co-operation with 

 the State Beekeepers' Association, 

 the Boys' and Girls' Clubs, and other 

 organizations interested in bees, thus 

 reaching the greatest possible num- 

 bers of people. 



Our picture shows Doctor and Mrs. 

 Merrill at home with their two chil- 

 dren. 



Fifty Years Ago 



Elisha Gallup in the American Bee 

 Journal for January, 1869 



AS I have a great many enquiries 

 in regard to wintering bees, I 

 propose to give my answer 

 through the Bee Journal. 



M. Quinby recommends a barn cel- 

 lar and he gives a description of his 

 in his book. But we do not all have 

 such cellars. Mr. Robert Jones de- 

 scribes a very cheap house to winter 

 bees in. I think that 10 or 12 inches 

 of sawdujt would be better than six 

 for our northern climate. Mr. 

 Thomas, of Canada, gives us another 

 cheap plan. Mr. Wedge, of Wiscon- 

 sin, uses a house with double board 

 walls and a foot space between each, 

 filled with straw dust, with perfect 

 satisfaction. Chas. Dadant gives us 

 his method of burying bees, and with 

 his method of ventilating the trench 

 there is no doubt but it will work 

 well. If you put one tube in the top, 

 or two of the same length, it is no 

 ventilation at all. But put one in and 

 let it come up through the covering 

 of the roof and extend down to 

 within an inch or two of the bottom 

 of the cave, then put in another, let- 

 ting it go down just through the cov- 

 ering and extend 5 or 6 feet above 

 the covering and you have the very 

 best of ventilation, with a strong 

 curent of air. 



A strong, large swarm, with abun- 

 dance of honey and properly ven- 

 tilated, will winter well on its sum- 

 mer stand; but it is almost impossi- 

 ble to give written instructions to 

 new beginners that will winter everv 

 swarm, without as much trouble as 

 it will cost to fix some of the reposi- 

 tories above mentioned. Our winters 

 are so variable that the method that 

 will work well in one winter would 

 not answer the next, on the summer 

 stand. With an especial repository, 

 we have the winter under our control, 

 and wintering reduced to an abso- 

 lute certainty, with proper ventila- 

 tion. A large number of swarms 

 create a large amount of animal 

 heat, and a small number create heat 

 in proportion. So in ventilating we 

 must take this into consideration and 

 govern ourselves accordingly. 



About wire gauze. If you fasten 

 your bees in with fine gauze and one 

 bee takes a notion that she wants to 

 go out, she commences butting her 

 head against the wire, and very soon 

 communicates her agitation to oth- 

 ers of the swarm, and they lose some 

 of their number every time. Now, 

 instead of the gauze, ventilate each 

 hive just right, and you will not lose 

 a dozen bees per swarm in the whole 

 winter. If you are troubled or are 

 afraid of rats or mice, use coarse 

 wire that a bee can pass through 

 easily, and still keep out the mice. I 

 winter in the cellar, and yet ventilate 

 each swarm so that I can go all 

 around with a light and not a bee 

 stirs or attempts to come out. If a 

 large swarm is not peaceable, give 

 more ventilation. If from a small 

 swarm some of the bees come out 

 and discharge every time you go into 



