198 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



To secure lids firmly enougli to withstand the strongest 

 wind is a simple matter with these staples. A bradawl 

 is used to make a hole in the edge of the cover and the 

 corresponding hole is made in the hive body. The bradawl 

 requires to be slightly less in diameter than the legs of 

 the staples." 



It is during winter that the elements are so destructive 

 to the woodwork of hives, so that the paint brush should 

 be brought into requisition during the slack months. 



PAINTING HIVES, ETC. 



It certainly is very necessary to paint bee-hives, as 

 a painted body lasts ten times as long as one unpainted. 

 This is the practical experience of the author. Last year 

 a neighbour bought a small apiary of 8 frame Langstroth 

 hives ; they were only two years old, and had never been 

 painted, but he much preferred some of his bodies ten 

 years old that had received a coat of paint every two 

 years. The author has some twelve years old and they 

 are good hives to-day. 



Nature never intended the inside of a tree to with- 

 stand the weather, the bark looks after that. Now, when 

 the bark or outside cover is removed and the timber cut, 

 the fine "tubes" or cells are exposed to the action of the 

 weather. These "tubes," if one may be permitted to so 

 describe them, are really the channels through which the 

 tree draws up its nourishment from the soil. They are 

 commonly referred to as the "grain" of the timber. 

 When the wood in a hive-body is examined, it will be 

 found that the ends absorb more paint than the flat sides ; 

 the reason for this is, the porosity of the tubes more 

 readily conducts the liquid portion into the interior. The 

 smooth sides cannot do this because the openings of the 

 tubes are not so exposed. For this reason the ends of 

 all timber decay much quicker than the sides. 



To prevent this, give the ends of all hive-boards a 

 coat of raw linseed oil before nailing together. Painted 

 hives look nicer, and keep the bees dry. What colour? 

 White looks well and in any climate is certainly the best. 



