ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



79 



on any side of it — it will touch clear 

 across. 



Dr. Miller — ^We have something of 

 very great importance, if that wiill 

 prove true always — a siilgle board pine 

 cover, I don't care how you make it, 

 it will twist at one corner or the other, 

 and will let a bee in or out. If red- 

 wood will hold its reputation gener- 

 ally, that is something we ought to 

 know. I don't believe we know all 

 about the matter of hive-covers yet. 

 For instance: Dr. Bohrer says you 

 must not have too thin stuff; he is 

 right in that; yet it depends a little 

 on how that thin stuff is used. The 

 hive -covers that I have in use now, 

 any one of them, is not thicker than 

 %, and that very thinness, used in a 

 certain way, it is an advantage, because 

 a thin board will not have as much 

 power to warp as a thick one; if you 

 have one layer of a board with the 

 grain running one way, and then an- 

 other running the other way, then you 

 are safer against warping. Another 

 point: I believe you have the ad- 

 vantage, if you have those two layers 

 with spaces between them. You may 

 call it dead air space, but it is not by 

 any means; but an air space in there 

 keeps it warm in winter and cooler 

 in summer, because that space makes 

 a non-conductor there. As to the 

 material to cover it with, I have some 

 that are covered with tin, painted, and 

 some with zinc, that is, without any 

 tim I like the zinc, I think, better, 

 because there is no paint needed with 

 them. 



Mr. Kannenberg — ^Dr. Miller pre- 

 scribes those covers. I would not have 

 them for a gift, because I have han- 

 dled them^ and they warp right in the 

 middle. I don't know just exactly how 

 his covers do, but I know that kind of 

 cover, where there is an air-space be- 

 tween the boards, will warp in the 

 middle. 



Dr. Bohrer — There seems to be some 

 misuniderstanding about what I called 

 the "Acme" cover — about how it is 

 made. Mr. Arnd is here; he has some 

 bee- supplies in town, and I would sug- 

 gest that ,he bring one of them here 

 this afternoon, in order that every- 

 body may see how they are made. 

 With regard to covering them with 

 tin or zinc, I find that zinc will, in 

 time, give out when exposed to the 

 open air; galvanized iron, if painted 

 two or three times, will last longer. 



With regard to red -wood, I have made 

 a number of bottom-boards out of it. 

 I get the board the exact width of 

 my hives; cut it the length I want; 

 dress it, and nail the board on that, 

 and never have had it to shrink or 

 warp at all. It warps less than any 

 other lumber I have ever had; there 

 are a great many kinds of boards that 

 are not fit to use at all; they ought 

 never to be put on the market. I have 

 lost a good many colonies of bees by 

 their allowing mice to - get in. Re- 

 garding the "Acme" cover, it will cost 

 you something more than the ordinary 

 cover, but you had better pay a little 

 more and get something that will sat- 

 isfy you. 



Mr. Moore — I think this hive cover 

 question is quite a burning question. 



I want to move that Mr. Arnd and 

 Mr. Boyden be requested to bring over 

 a little exhibit of hive-covers for the 

 afternoon session. 



The motion was seconded and car- 

 ried. 



Dr. Miller — I want to find out some- 

 thing about that cover that, lets the 

 bees through. Where do you say the 

 bees go to? 



Mr. Kannenberg — The corners are 

 down, but the middle warps up. 



Dr. Miller (illustrating) — ^Down at 

 that corner, and down at this, then up 

 there (indicating the middle). In my 

 locality they don't do that! Those two 

 surfaces — ^the grain running one way 

 and one running the other — are those 

 two surfaces right flat, one on top the 

 other? 



Mr. Kannenberg — No air-space be- 

 tween. 



Dr. Miller — I don't understand it; it 

 must be a peculiar locality! 



The convention then adjourned, to 

 meet at 1:30 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The convention met at 1:30 p.m., as 

 per adjournment, with President York 

 in the chair. The question box was 

 resumed. 



Getting Candied Honey From Barrels. 



"What is the best method for getting 

 candied honey out of barrels?" 



Mr. Cavanagh — I don't know the best 

 way; one way is to roll the barrel up 

 on an incline plank; have a little plat- 

 form; take the hoops ofE the barrel; 



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