12 



Fig. 



-Buckeye double 



lied hive assembled. 



Twenty-two colonies packed last winter in this way, a la Na- 

 ture, Hives, Woodman PROTECTION, two walls of heavy lumber, 

 1" space packed with fine stuff. Super-cover with hole covered 

 with inch block, six to eight inches of excelsior, dry leaves, planer 

 shavings and so on, then the cover on and the holes in cover 

 closed with corks. Results: big, sassy swarms, about 15 pounds 

 of the stores gone March 15th. One to two frames of eggs 

 and brood, and in hive 5 eggs in drone cells. 



Last season I'd not have saved a bee had it nor been for 

 the chaff hives. Understand I have no cellar and must winter 

 out of doors. 



Mr. Holterman, of Canada, abandoned a thousand-dollar cel- 

 lar to winter out of doors. And he PACKS. 



The bees in a state of nature get into a cavity in a tree. 

 They dig out all the dead wood they can, generally making 

 a conical cavity UPWARDS. This they varnish until it is wa- 

 terproof. MAN to IMPROVE on NATURE comes along -wi-Ji 

 an armful of hay and a 4-inch auger and bores a hole in from 

 the top, puts the hay over it and goes away. 



I try to follow nature. I have a hive so warm that only 

 in rare cases will moisture gather on the walls, NEVER on 

 the roof— super cover. Again following Nature, I have a LARGE 

 entrance, %x4". I'd sooner have it % by 14" than much smaller 

 I did not get to put wire over the entrances last fall, so scat- 

 tered poisoned corn over the bee yard. No mice. 



The essentials are: Sealed covers; large entrance; thick, warm 

 walls; tight joints overhead; 4 to 6 or even 8" packing on top 

 solid super cover; no holes in cover. 



Probably one per cent of the bee keepers in the U. S. think 

 for themselves. I TRY to be one of the one per cent." 



