EXHIBITING 201 



brush will do very good work. The stencil should be 

 frequently wiped dean with a cotton cloth to make nice 

 clear figures. Apiaries otherwise neat and orderly are 

 often disfigured by numbers written with a stick, a 

 stringy-bark brush, or some other equally unhandy tool. 

 Before putting the hives in position, the bottom-boards 

 on the underside should receive a coat of hot coal-tar. 

 This acts as a mild disinfectant, preserves the wood from 

 damp, and the attacks of the termites or white ants. 



EXHIBITING. 



PREPARATIONS. 



It is during winter that the apiarist had better pre- 

 pare any exhibits of wax, bees, or honey, etc., should he 

 intend to show at any of the spring shows or exhibitions. 

 Wax should be moulded into a varietj'' of shapes, the 

 honey- jars should receive careful attention, and it is 

 well worth while to polish the glass-ware finally with 

 methylated spirits and newspaper. Figs. 71 and 72 show 

 hives with glass sides for observation — for exhibiting 

 hive-bees at Agricultural Shows, etc. 



Fig. 71 is very convenient for holding a single frame 

 of bees with queen: this is usually known as the single 

 frame glass nucleus. It is covered with a wire gauze 

 top for hot weather, and on cold days the solid lid takes 

 the place of the screen. It is also popular for advertising 

 honey, etc., in shop windows. Bees under observation in 

 this nucleus can be conveniently studied in a drawing- 

 room if a flight hole is provided by raising the window 

 sash a little with the nucleus contiguous. 



Fig. 72 depicts an observation hive for a full colony 

 of bees, the shutters of which are covered with green 

 baize; sometimes a glass super containing honey-comb is 

 shown in conjunction with it. This hive was constructed 



