vA 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



the middle of the east side. Immediately as 

 you enter, a door at the right opens into the 

 work room, and directly in front of you is 

 the stairs. 



The ground slopes to the south, and you 

 enter the door of the cellar at the south end, 

 walking in on a level. An inside and an 

 outside door nine inches apart, four feet 

 wide. I would have it wider rather than 

 narrower. The cellar bottom is clay. Gravel 

 might be better. I tried a cement bottom 

 once, and I thought I didn't like it. 



If you don't want rats to undermine the 

 cellar walls, dig a trench a foot deep under 

 the wall, that is, the bottom of the trench 

 will be a foot lower than the cellar bottom. 

 Fill the trench with small stones and grout. 

 No rat can gnaw through, and no rat knows 

 enough to dig under it. 



You've had a number telling what should 

 be done on the part of the editor and pub- 

 lisher. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have 

 at least part of a number devoted to telling 

 what ought to be expected of correspond- 

 ents ? The editor could tell what he wants, 

 and perhaps that would be all that's neces- 

 sary. 



I thank you for deposing the "we." The 

 figs will be entrusted to Uncle Sam. You'll 

 make an editor yet. 



A wild idea has just struck me. If a sym- 

 posium could be gotten together from all 

 the different editors, telling what is desirable 

 in contributors, both in matter and manner, 

 also some of the things that most commonly 

 annoy editors, it might be a benefit to said 

 editors Vjy causing improvement in contri- 

 butions, and I am sure would make very in- 

 teresting reading for that large class who 

 have something to write — and that includes 

 all who keep bees. 



I like your short editorial items. Do more 

 of it — free and easy. I like that picture on 

 the cover so much. I never dreamed you 

 could make so good a paper. 



Maeengo, 111., Dec. 17, 1890, 



Have a Large Building, with Cellar Tinder 

 It, at One Side of the Apiary. 



fN laying out an apiary for even a few 

 hives the thing to be considered next is 

 to store the various " traps " as the bee 

 keeper usually expresses it. And in our 

 rambles among the fraternity we have found 

 such storage in all imaginable places. The 

 corn crib, the wood shed, the loft over the 



shed, a corner in the horse barn, and the 

 smoke house, and when the apiary increased 

 the traps were distributed in several of these 

 places. 



In some apiaries the " traps " were truly 

 appalling, and I opine that nearly every bee 

 keeper has been more or less surprised at 

 the accumulation of a useless pile of lumber. 

 In our own apiary we have been heroically 

 weeding out all of these accumulations, and 

 we think bee keepers should make more of a 

 study of this point, " How to get along with 

 the least number of ' traps.' " 



The bee keeper usually builds too small. 

 A little tucked up building 8x10 will do very 

 well for a dozen swarms, but when the lawn 

 is covered with a hundred or more, storage 

 must again be sought in the various out 

 buildings. Our Vermont brethren set a very 

 good example in relation to buildings. 

 Many have erected commodious buildings 

 nearly 30x40, and two stories high, which 

 gives an abundance of room. 



According to our idea of a building for an 

 apiary, in our northern climate, it is not 

 complete unless a cellar is provided for win- 

 tering, and we cannot better explain our 

 ideas for a building than by referring to page 

 61(), Vol. 1.5, Gleanings, where will be found 

 a diagram of a portion of our own buildings. 



Our first building was a cellar 12x18, 

 where we stored our bees in the winter and 

 worked in the summer. As our apiary in- 

 creased two additional rooms 15x21 and 

 15x1.') were added. Then a shop was to be 

 added 15x25, but has not up to the present 

 time. The modifications we would make in 

 our house if we were to build again is the 

 enlargement of every room except the shop, 

 and instead of using an expensive engine, I 

 think a Barnes foot power would be ample 

 to do our sawing. The various supplies can 

 now be purchased at such slight advance 

 over the mere cost of the lumber that it will 

 not pay to put in expensive machinery for 

 the purpose. Another point overlooked by 

 myself and several bee keepers, is a proper 

 roadway to the very doors of the building. 

 This can hardly be accomplished if the 

 building is in the center of the apiary. We 

 would, therefore, for this reason, if for no 

 other, have our building upon the extreme 

 edge of the apiary. Another extremely 

 handy feature in a building is to have the 

 main doors quite large to admit the wheeling 

 in on a barrow of the various articles to and 

 from the yard and house. Another conven- 



