THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



99 



I first made the arrangement with a hole, 

 F, in one corner of the tin C to allow the 

 melted wax to run out into a cup G, but I 

 have now dispensed with this and simply 

 empty the tin, C, when it gets full. A little 

 water is kept in the pan C. Have a common 

 table knife to scrape the comb refuse from 

 the top of the iron D. 



Friend H., this is not theory. I used it on 

 many hundreds of sections last year ; in 

 faci, all the honey (about 1,500 pounds) 

 that I got finished was in these prepared 

 sections, and a nicer, whiter lot of combs 

 you never saw. It brought 18 cents here as 

 soon as crated. 



I am making machinery to make them and 

 shall claim a moral patent, at least. Every 

 bee-keeper that has seen it says, " Yes. 1 

 want one." 



FoRESTViLLE, Minn. Feb. 12, 1893. 



A Description of the "Larg-est House- Apiary 



in the World," and its Successful 



Management. 



H. p. LANGDON. 



■' E pluribus uiiom." 



TN telling my 

 1 bee - keeping 

 friends about the 

 largest house-api- 

 ary in the world, 

 let me, first of 

 all, thank all those 

 who, during the 

 past ten years, 

 have written 

 through the bee 

 j ou rna 1 s anything 

 in regard to the 

 house-apiary question ; as it is only through 

 their experience that I have been able to 

 make my house what it is. I took each point 

 under careful consideration, then took a lit- 

 tle here and a little there from all these dif- 

 ferent articles, to make a perfect whole that 

 would suit me. So, although friend B. Tay- 

 lor's advice on page 38 of the Review is 

 good, all these experiments had demonstra- 

 ted the plans that would suit me best. That 

 is why I built so large for the first one. 



The house, 11x100 feet, stands a few de- 

 grees W. of S. on a good stone and mortar 

 wall, with ventilating openings on each side. 

 The sills are two pieces of 2x4 ; the lower 

 joists are 2x8, two feet from center to center, 



and the same distance as the studding. Tlie 

 floor is double Jg, both layers planed, with a 

 strip of sheet-iron between, close to the 

 boarding and around the studding, to prevent 

 mice from gnawing up through. A platform, 

 12 inches high and the width of a hive, runs 

 lengthwise of the building, in the center of 

 the room, except that a space of eight feet is 

 left at each end and six feet in the middle. 

 This platform is for holding extra hives, su- 

 pers, etc., that the alley on each side may be 

 left clear. It is a great convenience. On 

 each side of the platform every six feet are 

 openings 0x22 inches for bottom ventilation. 



The studding is 2x4 and of such a length 

 as to make the top of the plate (2x4, two 

 pieces) come 8,^' feet from the floor, and the 

 upper joists (l^-^xS) are nailed across the 

 rafters one foot above the top of the plate, 

 thus making the room 9^2 feet in the clear. 



The roof has the common pitch for this 

 width, and is well shingled. 



On the floor at each side of the room is a 

 platform the length of the room, three 

 inches high and three inches wider than the 

 hive, which stands upon it flush with the in- 

 side edge of the studding. This platform is 

 permanently stufl:'ed with planer shavings. 

 I use the Root simplicity hive, square joint, 

 flat cover, and it stands on this platform, 

 sidewise to the wall, two feet from center to 

 center, thus bringing the ends but 'd% inches 

 apart. 



The entrance in the boarding is nearly on 

 a level with the floor, then rises on a slant to 

 the top of the platform, and opens into the 

 hive four inches from its outer side. This 

 leaves a space for dead bees to accumulate, 

 so I think no rim will be needed under the 

 hive in winter. Over this space, between the 

 hive and wall, level with the bottom of the 

 hive, is a loose cover with an inch hole in it. 

 Then, over this, nearly to the top of the hive, 

 is another cover, resting on cleats on the 

 studdings. This forms a sort of box (4x22x9 

 deep) between the hive and the wall, and is 

 just the thing to get rid of bees that must be 

 shaken off the covers, combs or other things. 

 By tipping this little cover back against the 

 wall, shaking the bees in, dropping the cov- 

 er in place, and letting them go down 

 through the inch hole and up into the hive at 

 their leisure, one troublesome feature of most 

 house-apiaries is avoided. These two plat- 

 forms provide for 100 hives. 

 ■ Above these platforms, i}^ feet from the 

 floor, is a shelf, formed by nailing an arm of 



