THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



79 



down, not to speak of stings, robbers, and 

 other annoyances. 



In hives with only a bee-space above 

 the frames, only one thickness of cloth 

 can be used. For this purpose 1 have 

 found nothing better than a kind of canvas 

 known as 12-oz duck, which can be 

 bought at any dry goods store. Enameled 

 cloth tears too easily, and the bees gnaw 

 holes through it. 



Valparaiso. Ind., Feb. 16. 1907. 



1 consider the foregoing a very fair dis- 

 cussion of the quilt-question; now that it 

 is up. I am going to quote another very 

 fair editorial on the subject that appeared 

 in the American Bee-Keeper for February, 

 it is as follows : — 



The bee-space over frames is no barrier 

 to the use of a quilt if one desires to use 

 it. Individual tastes and methods of work- 

 ing must determine preferences in regard 

 to frame covering. For summer use, with 

 hives nicely shaded, a well-fitting flat lid 

 is all that is heeded and is. perhaps, the 

 acme of perfection, but they do not admit 

 of the moderate winter ventilation and 

 absorbent qualities desired in some in- 

 stances. 



In making early spring examinations, 

 as to the strength of colonies just out of 

 winter quarters, the quilt is a decided 

 advantage. Instead of having to pry 

 loose a propolized lid or honey-board, the 

 apiarist can jerk back the quilt and re- 

 place it in one second, ascertaining the 

 approximate strength of the colony 

 closely clustered upon the brood on a cool 

 morning. If it becomes necessary to per- 

 form some slight operation at a time 

 when robbers are troublesome, such as to 

 remove or insert a frame of honey it is 

 not necessary to expose the whole top of 

 the frames, when quilts are in use. It 

 may be turned back just far enough to 

 expose the frames wanted, and may be 

 flopped back in an instant, with one hand, 

 and the hive thus closed. 



The ideal hive covering, for a northern 

 climate, is a flat lid with a rim, admitting 

 of the use of a sawdust cushion inside, 

 with a quilt over the frames. In the 

 South, a flat lid with honey-board and 

 air-space between, fills the bill exactly. 



1 1 have used quilts to a slight extent; 

 that is, I have found them in use in the 

 apiaries that 1 have examined for foul 

 brood. I have also found them on hives 



that I have bought, but have always 

 them thrown away. 



It is said that a cover will come off 

 with a snap, which is true in cool weather. 

 It is also said that this snap jars and 

 irritates the bees, and the removal of the 

 whole cover, opening up the whole top of 

 the hive, gives the bees greater oppor- 

 tunity to sally forth and make merry with 

 their keeper. 1 admit all of this, but here 

 is the way that I open a hive: Smoke 

 the bees at the entrance the first thing I 

 do. After bees are subdued, thumping 

 and snapping things about the hive only 

 adds to their submission. After the 

 smoke has been driven in at the entrance 

 I pry the cover loose with a screw driver, 

 but I don't pull it right off and allow a 

 great host of bees to make an attack. I 

 drive smoke mto the crack opened by the 

 screw driver sufficiently for this purpose, 

 but not to let out any bees. With these 

 preliminaries it is perfectly safe to remove 

 the cover with little danger of stings. 



If a man wishes to take a little peep 

 into one corner of the brood nest, to see 

 how strong the colony is, and that is all 

 that he wishes to do, a quilt is an 

 advantage. 



Here is the way that I have found 

 quilts working where I have been. When 

 first put on, if you can get all of the bees 

 down off the top bars, the quilt lies down 

 nice and smooth, but the bees are sure to 

 put a line of propolis along the edges of 

 each top bar. The next time that the 

 quilt is put back, it is not put in exactly 

 the same place. Those little ridges of 

 propolis raise it up slightly from the top 

 bars, and bigger ridges of propolis are 

 put along the edges of the top bars. 

 This thing continues until there are little 

 bunches and lumps of propolis here and 

 there, and ths quilt does not lie down 

 smooth. The bees plug the openings with 

 propolis, and even burr combs, in some 

 instances. The putting on and taking off 

 of such quilts is no pleasure for either the 

 bees or their keeper. 



In my experience, the top bars of sec- 

 tions are daubed worse with propols 



