124 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



aiding us in combating foul brood, for this carl}' and late exam- 

 ination and the fact that we can produce cnmb instead of extracted 

 honey, should be of great help to us in combating foul brood, the only 

 dreaded disease we have to contend with in our pursuit. 1 have long 

 felt that the extractor is very blamable for the spread of foul brood. 



I will be pleased to report to the IvKXIRW in the spring how this 

 little colony referred to above gets through the winter in its spacious 

 cjuarters, with only a single-walled hive body for protection. 



This winter, with its terrible storms that have swept the con- 

 tinent from coast to coast, should bring bee-keepers to their senses 

 in regard to leaving their bees exposed to the elements without 

 shelter. A goodly number of years ago, when we had a series 

 of storms similar to these this winter, our Michigan esteemed bee- 

 keeper, George E. Hilton, lost his large fine apiary in Northern 

 Michigan, although put up in the most approved manner in double- 

 walled Hilton hives with all the details properly attended to by him- 

 self in the way of chaft' cushions above and proper attention to ven- 

 tilation, etc. After learning of this disaster, I abandoned all idea 

 of any packing about hives less in size than the bee-keeper could 

 also get inside of himself with the bees and see that they were all 

 right, for we found that Spring after the disaster to the Hilton apiary 

 that all of our bees here in single-walled hives in buildings above 

 ground were alive and doing fine. I had been working along the 

 line of putting our bees up on tables and covering them with a case 

 something like 2^^ feet high and broad, so I could keep the storms 

 away from the hives and especially the entrances. But this I aban- 

 doned and turned my attention to the construction of a building or 

 shell large enough so that we can work comfortably in it, and where 

 we can raise the bees on a shelf a suitable height from the ground 

 so we do not have to break our backs while working at them and 

 where the outside entrance will be above the clogging of snow and 

 ice and above toads, skunks and mice. 



I wish to say that the setting of bees so close to the ground as 

 has been practiced has been prolific of more disaster than almost 

 anything that has occurred to bee-keeping ; still it could not well be 

 avoided without shelter. When I found that I could build a suitable 

 house for the bees where we could handle them so comfortably for 

 considerably less per hive than what these double-walled hives would 

 cost extra, and very much cheaper than a cellar could be constructed 

 for, then I was more than pleased, as these double-walled hives were 

 a very great inconvenience in the summer management of the bees. 

 With a bee house and single-walled hives our labor is reduced to the 

 minimum, for there is no extra fixings in the way and no lugging of 

 appliances from the honey house to the yard and back again, and if 

 we are tired at night we can just quit where we arc and all is safe 

 from storms, etc. 



