THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



77 



a thin board can be slipped in before the 

 end is nailed on. This thin board should 

 not be over ;^s inch thick, and is to rest 

 on top of the hive, supporting the cover 

 and making the lower wall of the air 

 space. The grain of the wood, in the 

 thin piece, should run crosswise of the 

 hive. 



Whether the space between the two 

 covers should be filled with chaff, or 



some other nonconductor, is more than I 

 can say. I am sure it would be all right 

 for spring management, but for the hot 

 summer days I am doubtful. It might 

 be better to have no ends at all ih.Qn. Or, 

 may be, the difference in the time of the 

 year could be fixed by using a quilt early, 

 and leaving it off later, when the weather 

 got to be warm. 

 Richland Center, Wis., Feb. 7, 1902. 



•^•^/^.^ 



MOISTURE, HEAT AND HIVE -COVERS. 



BY K. H. SCH.\RFKLE. 



Heat Alone does not Pull Nails, but Alternating it 

 With Moisture does the Mischief. 



All the boards did 



T is moisture, not heat, that draws the 

 nails out of hives in California. The 

 shingles on my barn roof had their 

 points all nailed down, some ten years 

 ago, and those nails are now all l3"iug 

 loose on the shingles. I have a hive that 

 was set on the stand some ten years ago; 

 it was new then, and had never been 

 painted. The nails have drawn out, the 

 sides split and warped, and the top rot- 

 ted, until there is nothing of value in it, 

 save the frames. Ne.\t to this hive is one 

 that was given two coats of paint when 

 put on the stand, 10 years ago, and it has 

 been painted twice since then, and there 

 is not a nail started in it, nor a board 

 warped. Under a shed are some 25 hives 

 that have set there for 20 years. The 

 shed keeps off the rain but does not shade 

 the hives. None of the nails in these 

 hives have starte<l. In the apiary are 

 over a hundred hive-bodies that have 

 been in use, without protection, for forty 

 years. The rain has beaten the paint off 

 of the sides, and the nails crawl out and 

 drop of their own weight. 



HOW THE D};EI) is DONE. 



Nail two, 's inch boards together, set 

 them out in our California sun's rays, 

 and the boards will shrink i-i6of an inch. 



hrink — colkriik^e. 



Now let it rain, and the boards will swell 

 's of an inch, and carry the nails out that 

 distance. WHien the boards drj^ out, the 

 nail will be left projecting. When the 

 next rain follows, the wood around the 

 nail will swell, gra.«p the nail, and, as the 

 wood expands, carry the nail out. This 

 process is continued until the nail finally 

 drops out, and is lost in the grass or sand. 



THI': REMEDY IS SHEETER OR PAINT. 



The nails in a hive that is well painted, 

 and kept painted, do not drop out. I have 

 about 200 covers like Mr. Gill's, save the 

 cloth, and I don't like them. The bees 

 must be all smoked down l^efore the cov- 

 er is put on, or you will crush a lot of 

 bees. With the cover having only end 

 cleats, you can slide it on quickly, with- 

 out crushing a bee. If the winds are apt 

 to flirt with the covers, a \'an Deusen 

 hive clamp holds the cover in place. Mr. 

 Gill with his muslin cover is able to get 

 on about four coats of paint at one time. 

 This keeps out the moisture, and prevents 

 the wood from expanding and pulling out 

 the nails. 



DESIRAIUEITV OF A VENTI- 

 LATED COVER. 

 Catalogues of bee keepers' supplies 

 have been coming in by every mail, th 



