42 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



E. D. TOWNSEND. 



JT IS now January 2nd, and we are be- 

 ginning' to plan for the busy season. 

 The first thing to do is to order what 

 new hives, supers, etc,, we shall need for 

 another season. We bought 77 colonies 

 last fall, and, as the hives they were in 

 were not the size we use, we bought the 

 bees only, and reserved the use of the 

 hives until next May. Then, a year ago. 

 we bought 45 colonies that are still in 

 undesirable hives. In addition, we are 

 figuring on a little increase next summer, 

 and this will all be put into new hives. 

 Then, these new additions call for more 

 upper stories, together with frames to 

 nail and wire. All these supplies will be 

 ordered now, so that we will get them 

 early next month; for, you see, we want 

 them all nailed up, and frames wired, be- 

 fore the 20th of March; because, from 

 then on, we will have our hands full, as 

 the bees will soon be taken from their 

 winter-quarters, and given spring pro- 

 tection. Then we will have a honey 

 house to build during April; and in May a 

 carload of bees will be moved 100 miles 

 north to the wild red ra.iberry district. 

 In addition to this, during the warm period 

 of April and May, all the new work we 

 are putting up this winter, besides some 

 of our older hives, will have to be painted. 

 Then there is our foundation to be put 

 into the brood and super frames, sections 

 to be set up, and foundation to be put in, 

 this, too, is done during April and May. 

 By this time, the reader will see how im- 

 possible it would be for us to put off 

 ordering our supp'ies, so as to see "how 

 the bees are going to come out next 

 spring." Have confidence in your busi- 

 ness, and order a conservative amount of 

 supplies. Should you have a few left, 

 they will not spoil; and, next spring, 



if you see you have more supplies on hand 

 than you can possibly use, leave this 

 unused portion without foundation, as 

 the foundation will keep better, usually, 

 in the shipping box. 



THE SUPPLIES WE USE AND RECOMMEND. 



We suppose we have more inquiries 

 along the line of what hive we use, than 

 all others put together, Inquirers seem to 

 know we use the 1 0-frame hive, but they 

 want to know just the exact cover, body, 

 frames, etc., we are using, so 1 presume 

 a few words along this line would be 

 appreciated. 



The cover is what is listed as the 

 Excelsior, and we order them made 17 

 inches wide, so there is a half inch of 

 eaves on each side. Then they ought to 

 be made of heart pine lumber, and in 

 addition to this they ought to be cut 

 heart side up. I am satisfied that these 

 two precautions, will double the life of the 

 cover. The sap lurfiber can be put into 

 the bodies. 



PUT THE HEART SIDE OF THE LUMBER OUT. 



The bodies are the regular 10-frame, 

 and we shall order them cut heart side 

 out. This is /ery important, as the con- 

 cave side of a board is always the sap 

 side. We nail the sap side in. and then 

 there will be no gaping at the corners. 

 Then, in nailing, we make two grades of 

 bodies; selecting the very best heart 

 material for the hive bodies, using the 

 ^ap pieces for the supers, as they are 

 used only during the dry, summer months, 

 and do not get the hard usage that the 

 hive does. 



The bottom boards we use are what is 

 listed as "the old style" or B bottom. 

 The floor is /s of an inch thick, and made 

 reversible; the strips forming the space 



