THE TEMPERATURE OF THE BEE COLONY. 



B. An ordinary bottom board. 



C This wooden collar contained the feeder and increased the space between the 

 bottoms of the brood frames and the bottom board, thus allowing the insertion of a 

 thermometer below the frames. The feeder was what is known as an Alexander 

 feeder. The end may be seen extending out of the collar at the rear of the hive. In 

 this projection, which was provided with a wooden cover, the sugar sirup is poured 

 without disturbing the hive. The cover prevents drafts of air through the feeder. 



D. Above the collar was the hive body in which the bees were located. The frames 

 were spaced with metal spacers (fig. 3), and wedges between the central frames held 

 all firmly in place. In this way everything was sufficiently secure to enable any 

 possible manipulation, even to turning the hive upside down, should it be necessary , 

 without displacing parts. 

 The wedges also increased 

 the space between the 

 central frames sufficiently 

 to allow for the insertion 

 of the stems of thermom- 

 eters. The gauge in 

 frames 3 and 4 permitted 

 the insertion of thermom- 

 eter e (fig. 3) . The frames 

 were wired and filled with 

 full sheets of foundation 

 before insertion. Two 

 holes were bored in the 

 middle of the front above 

 the entrance, for use in 

 case it should become de- 

 sirable to insert thermom- 

 eters. Throughout the 

 experiment these were 

 closed with corks. 



E. Between bodies D 

 and F was a perforated 

 zinc honey board. 



F. A second body was 

 provided in case more 

 comb space should be- 

 come desirable. 



G. The top of the hive 

 proper was covered with 

 a thin cover. This, as is 

 shown in figure 3, had 

 four holes drilled in the median line and one directly over the rear part of the space 

 between frames 3 and 4. Through these holes thermometers fitted in corks were 

 inserted. 



//. This was a special hive body used as a protection for the thermometers. One 

 side, shown in figure 2, was removable so as to permit easy reading of the instruments. 

 In this chamber and around the thermometers were two cushions of ground cork, for 

 the protection of the tops of the thermometers and for the conservation of the heat of 

 the cluster in the extreme of winter. 



I. A metal cover. 



Fig. 2.— Hive on scales in shed where it was kept during the winter. 



