ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



81 



rest on; that will leave air circulation 

 at each end, and keep dry and clean. 



Dr. Bohrer — Several have stated we 

 have been using them; I have, for two 

 yeai:.s; I make them differently; I make 

 a block long enough to reach across 

 a 10 -frame Langstroth hive, and make 

 it square. I cut some boards to fit 

 and put it rightj down on the ground; 

 mix the cement 1 to 5 — one of cement 

 ■to five of sand. I>rive sticks around the 

 mold after you have smoothed ofC the 

 top, and in' five minutes' time you can 

 take the boards away and the block is 

 completed. That makes a very hard 

 block, and one you can carry anywhere 

 you please. The front block I make 

 so as to answer the purpose of a land- 

 ing board. I make it slant from the 

 mouth of the hive to the ground; the 

 bees will run right up; you isee them 

 tumbling end over end in the grass, 

 and they will run right up that block 

 and be in the hive. It is movable; you 

 can move it anywhere you please. 

 Tou have to be careful and level it, 

 or the hive won't set level, the same 

 as with a wooden block, but it is a 

 more durable stand; doesn't cost 

 much, and will last as long as any. 

 Mix it dry, one to five; stir it up dry, 

 and sprinkle with a water pot and 

 keep stirring it, so that you can get it 

 up in a balli and squeeze it. "WTien it 

 is finished, you have a very hard 

 block. 



Mr. Huffman — ^I have found in using 

 cement bottoms, that where I have 

 "had twenty -five or thirty that I didn't 

 use, .they make a very good sidewalk. 

 My boy took a number of them and 

 made a good sidewalk, so that they 

 come ih handy, to be used for some- 

 thing else besides a hive-stand. I 

 think it best to make them in a solid 

 ■block; I would not change from that; 

 it answers the purpose very well; set 

 It with a slope and the dampness 

 doesn't bother. 



Mr. Horstmann — I have made a lot 

 of the blocks^ — about a hundred last 

 year. I took an ordinary door, and 

 then took a piece of 2x4, and made a 

 Mnd of frame, and the cement, about 

 four parts of sand to one of cement. 

 Then take a shovel and shovel it right 

 in and level k all off nicely. Leave 

 these blocks stand about three days, 

 until they harden; and they will drop 

 right out by loosening the 2x4s from 

 one end; set the block up on one end 

 and you can move them anywhere. 



You can give them a slant, and they 

 will always be dry; they are handy in 

 case there are any ants around; you 

 can raise the block up and use a lot 

 of kerosene, or any old thing, to put 

 under that slab and make it uncomfor- 

 table for the ants. I call them "ce- 

 ment slabs," to take the place of hive- 

 stands; you can make it long enough 

 so in case the grass or weeds grow up, 

 they can grow up in front of the hive, 

 and won't go through the cement. 



Mr. Holtermann — How thick are 

 they? 



Mr. Horstmann — Two inches; if you 

 use them about one to four, or one to 

 five, you can have them strong enough 

 so that they will not break. I have 

 made two different sidewalks with 

 some of the blocks, and they make a 

 No. 1 sidewalk. 



Mr. Huffman — There is this about 

 the mold: The man who made mine, 

 made a platform to build the cement 

 block on; then he simply unhooked the 

 frame, and set it aside until it harden- 

 ed, and went right on and made the 

 next block of cement. 



Mr. Horstmann — Tou must get tlio 

 blocks hard enough to set thoroughly. 

 I tried to take one or two out before 

 they were set and thoroughly hardened, 

 and they broke. A good many leave 

 them in the mold three or four days — 

 then there is no danger of breaking 

 when you take them out. Make molds 

 enough to last. 



Mr. Huffman — How do you finish the 

 edges after you take them out of the 

 mold? 



Mr. Horstmann — The 2x4s form the 

 edge. 



Mr. Huffman — They finish the sides 

 the same as the top; make it perfect- 

 ly smooth? 



Mr. Horstmann — ^They will be per- 

 fectly smooth; just smooth the top off 

 with a trowel. Leave them long 

 enough so that they will be thorough- 

 ly set before you take them out of the 

 mold, and they will be nice and smooth 

 and hard, and the cost will be about 

 ten cents apiece. 



Mr. Baxter — I have had a good deal 

 of trouble with hive bottoms; I have 

 2x4's parallel across with the entrance; 

 the weight of the hive, when full of 

 honey, causes it to settle in the 

 ground, so that the bottom of the hive 

 rests practically on the ground. Every 

 fall I have to level them up so that all 

 the water will run off; I have a good 



