76 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



are others. They are sometimes on a 

 twist, and can not be made to fit down to 

 the hive. The moisture of the bees, even 

 when a quilt is used, is enough to cause 

 them to warp so as to let much heat es- 

 cape; and in the spring, when frost forms 

 on the covers, it always melts just over 

 the cluster first, which shows the heat is 

 not properly retained. 



Let us consider what we want of a cover. 

 Frist, a roof to shed rain and snow. Sec- 

 ond, protection against cold and loss of 

 heat. Third, a protection against the heat 

 of summer. 



OBJECTIONS TO SHADE-BOARDS. 



It is no easy problem, as you will see, 

 to fulfill all these requirements, and yet 

 have our cover light, handy to adjust to 

 the hive, cheap and always convenient. 

 We can best get the first requirement and 

 third by using a shade-board, which is 

 also a roof, but shade-boards are heavy, 

 awkward to handle with one hand, add to 

 the expense, are easily blown off the hive, 

 and if they form the only water proof 

 cover this is liable to occur just before a 

 shower, and your hive is wet through un- 

 less someone is there to readjust it. 



Experience proves that the feature of 

 sliding over, or "telescoping," as it is 

 called, has many advantages. I-'irst, it 

 keeps the cover from slipping off. Sec- 

 ond, it prevents cold wind from blowing 

 directly into the hive. Third, it carries 

 the drip far enough below the top of the 

 hive so there is not nmch chance of it get- 

 ting in. 



CRITICISMS ON THE GILL-COVKR. 



The GiU-cover has this feature on two 

 sides, which is well, but what he calls the 

 best feature, the % inch opening between 

 the hive and end pieces of the cover, 

 would be all right as a summer feature, 

 but here it would not do in spring time 

 when we must save every bit of heat we 

 can. Neither would many of us care to 

 bother with burlap quilts all the time on 

 our hives. I am not sure but what it 

 would be disastrous in hot weather — 

 either driving all the bees out of the hive 

 or causing the combs to melt. I can 

 easily see why it succeeds in Colorado 



where the nights are so cold. My own 

 experience, one season in Colorado, 

 would lead me to think it would be just 

 the thing there. 



To retain the heat properly, as well as 

 to resist the heat of midsummer, we 

 must have some nonconductor above the 

 bees, like an air space. To carry off the 

 moisture of the bees this must be made 

 of something somewhat porous, like a 

 thin board; and to insure that all water 

 falling on lop shall be carried off, we 

 must have the telescoping feature. 

 RKQUIRMENTS OE THE PERFECT COVER. 



So here you have my idea of a perfect 

 cover — light, strong, always true, cannot 

 warp, not easy to blow off, conserves 

 heat while allowing moisture to escape, 

 can be used with or without a quilt, and 

 is not very expensive. 



If Brodbeck would only add the tele- 

 scoping feature to his cover it would, in 

 my opinion, be perfect; /. e., as perfect as 

 anv cover can be, for we expect so much 

 of a cover. It is like looking for an over- 

 coat that will not only keep us warm in 

 winter, but also keep us cool in summer. 



It is worth much to the fraternity to 

 know that we can use cheap muslin to 

 cover our hives and make them weather 

 and water proof, and at the, same time 

 use a poorer grade of lumber. 



.\ DOUBLE COVER. 

 This picture shows the end piece re- 

 moved. First, a rim 2 inches deep, 

 large enough to slip loosely over 

 the hive, is made. The side-pieces 

 are grooved one inch from the top, so that 



