OR, MANUAI< OF THB APIARY. 459 



south {Pig. 254, b) three . feet by two feet, and made the same 

 as are the sides. The slanting edges of the side (Pig. 254, a, a) 

 are made by using for the upper boards the strips formed by 

 sawing diagonally from corner to corner a board six inches 

 wide and three feet long. The cover (Fig. 254, £■), which is 

 removed in the figure, is large enough to cover the top and 

 project one inch at both ends. It should be battened, and held 

 in one piece by cleats (Fig. 254, h) four inches wide, nailedon 

 to the ends. These will drop over the ends of the box, and 

 thus hold the cover in place, and prevent rain and snow from 

 driving in. When in place this slanting cover permits the 

 rain to run off easily, and will dry quickly after a storm. By 

 a single nail at each corner the four sides may be tacked 

 together about the hive, when it can be packed in with cut 

 straw (Fig. 254) or fine chaff, which should be carefully done, 

 if the day is cold, so as not to disquiet the bees. At the center 

 and bottom of the east side (Fig. 254, c) cut out a square eight 

 inches each way, and between this and the hive place a bot- 

 tomless tube (the top of this tube is represented as removed in 

 figure to show entrance to hive), before putting in the cut 

 straw or chaff and adding the cover. This box should be put 

 in place before the bleak, cold days of November, and retained 

 in position till the stormy winds of April are passed. This 

 permits the bees to fly when very warm weather comes in win- 

 ter or spring, and requires no attention from the apiarist. By 

 placing two or three hives close together in autumn — yei never 

 ■move the colonies more than three or four feet at any one time, 

 as such removals involve the loss of many bees — one box may 

 be made to cover all, and at less expense. This will also be 

 more trustworthy in very cold winters. Late in spring these 

 boxes may be removed and packed away, and the straw or 

 chaff carried away, or removed a short distance and burned. 



CHAFF-HIVES. 



Messrs. Townley, Butler, Root, Poppleton, and others, 

 prefer chaff-hives, which are simply double-wa:lled hives, with 

 the four-inch or five-inch chambers filled with chaff. The 

 objections to these I take to be : First, they are not proof 

 against severe and long-continued cold, like the winter of 



