18 ALEXANDER’S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 
almost say the necessity—of adopting some one of the standard hives 
as soon as possible. You must realize that you will have strong com- 
petition in the future in producing either comb or extracted honey, and 
it will be necessary to have the very best of every thing connected with 
the business in order to compete successfully with those who have these 
great improvements. 
August, 1906. 
HIVE-COVERS. 
HOW THE ALEXANDER SUPER-COVERS ARE MADE; RETAINING THE HEAT IN THE 
SPRING. 
A subscriber wishes to know how the under covers to our hives 
are made. I will say that they have a rim % wide and % inch in 
thickness, with a groove in the center % inch wide. In this groove 
we slide a board % inch thick, which leaves a 44-inch space on each side 
of the center board. 
The tops of our frames are flush with the top of the hive, so when 
we lay this cover on top of the hive and frames there is a %4-inch 
space between the under side of the cover and top of frames. Then 
when our outside telescope top is put on, which has a 2-inch rim all 
around on the under side, and rests on top of this under cover, there 
is another 44-inch space between the two covers. This, we find, makes 
an ideal top. It is warm in cool weather and cool in warm weather. 
We also use, in addition to this under cover, during spring and fall, 
a piece of heavy duck No. 8, or, as some would call it, a piece of light 
canvas, over the top of the frames under the under cover. This helps 
much to retain the heat of the colony during the spring, as it furnishes 
a perfect packing around the top of the hive. 
The rims of these under covers are mortised together at the corners, 
similar to a wood-zinc queen-excluder, and then nailed. They are strong 
and durable, and at the same time light and handy to handle. With 
the outside cover well painted, no water or cold air can enter our hives 
from the top during the spring season. 
We are all learning fast that it is very important to retain all the 
heat we can during early spring. We also close the entrance until it 
is so warm in the hive on a fair day that the bees will fan the air at 
the entrance as they usually do in mid-summer. This causes the old 
candied honey to Hquefy, and prevents the bees from carrying it out of 
their hives, where it is lost. 
October, 1907. 
