40 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



bee-keeper who, although hardly up-to- 

 date, has had a long experience with bees, 

 and he/>r^d'r.y a windy day to set them 

 out. With a good wind, he says they fly 

 closer to their hives, and are less liable 

 to mix up. 



The last two years I have used, with 

 much satisfaction, when moving colonies 

 from the cellar, two yard-pieces of white 

 cotton cloth folded to the i-ight size to 

 tuck in and close the entrance. These 

 are kept wet. or damp, and I have found 

 them far preferable to blocks of any kind. 

 They remain in position and keep the 

 entrance closed no matter how a hive is 

 handled. 



I keep the entrances contracted for some 

 time in the spring; and perhaps some 

 others who do so, and are, like myself, in 

 a locality where there are often hard 

 winds, may be interested in the way I do 

 it. In this locality, blocks for contract- 

 ing an entrance are useless. In such winds 

 as we often have, when the blocks are 

 most needed, they are blown out of po- 

 sition; and sometimes entirely off the 

 hive. The method I use is very simple, 

 yet I had kept bees for years, and given 

 the matter much thought and study, and 

 tried many different devices, before I 

 thought of the one that I now use. It 

 can be used on any hive that has no por- 

 tico, or that has no strips on the bottom 

 board that project beyond the front of the 

 hive body. 1 take a piece of lath as long 

 as the hive is wide, and close the entrance 

 with it by holding it against it flatwise. 

 I then drive three wire finishing nails in 

 the bottom board in front and close up 

 against the strip of lath. The two 

 outside ones are driven about an inch 

 and a half from the side edges of the 

 bottom board, and the other near the 

 center. The nails should be long enough 

 so that the points will just about reach 

 through the bottom-board, and still allow 

 the heads to be above the lath; so that it 

 can be slid back and forth to regulate the 

 entrance to the size of the colony; or as 

 the weather or occasion may rec^uire. If 

 the nails are held right up close against 

 the lath when they are driven, the lath 



will always remain exactly where it is 

 left. If the hive stays on its stand during 

 warm weather, the nails can be left in 

 place. The bees seem to enjoy climbing 

 around on these nails. Of couise, if it is 

 desired to attach a queen-trap, the nails 

 can be very easily removed; but it is not 

 necessary to remove them in order to at- 

 tach an entrance guard; as the nail heads 

 will project up through the holes in the 

 zinc. Care should be taken to select lath 

 of the same thickness; so that each strip 

 will fit any hive; as, in time, they become 

 mixed up. Still, if the thickness does 

 vary a little, the nails can be bent a 

 little, and thus be made to hold the 

 lath in place all right. In a deter- 

 mined attack by robbers it is also a pleas- 

 ure to be able to contract or close the en- 

 trance and Xv/oj^' that it will remain so. 

 If the attack is severe enough to neces- 

 sitate the entire closing of an entrance 

 during warm weather, some provision 

 nmst be made to admit air; and my prac- 

 tice in such cases is to remove the cover 

 and replace it with a wire screen such as 

 I use when hauling colonies. The cov- 

 er is then placed over the screen, with 

 sticks under it so as to allow the air to 

 circulate. Robbers soon tire of such a 

 fruitless task as will be any assault upon 

 a hive fixed in this manner. 



Southern Minn. Jan. 13, 1899. 



SOME PERTINENCIES FKOM RAMBLER. 



Does Black Really Rouse the Ire of Bees? 



Are they Affected by Objects in Motion? 



Do thev ever Collide on the Wing? 



J. H. MARTIN. 



I AM not sure that is worth while to 

 i write any thing further upon white vs. 

 black clothing in the apiary, and to which 

 the bee exhibits the greater animosity, 

 but, as bee-keeping is largely made up of 

 little things, a better understanding of 

 these, and conforming to the best meth- 



