The Wintehing Box and Stand. 



The wintering box consists of the floor, two ends, two sides and the roof, all 

 finished with cross cleats, so that each is a separate piece which can be taken down 

 and piled flat with the others when not in use. Seven-eighth inch matched lumber 

 is used throughout. The sides and ends are placed outside the floor to turn the 

 rain, and are supported by the corner cleats which rest endwise on the corners of 

 the floor. The inside dimensions of the box are 241/^ inches deep, 40 inches wide 

 and 45% inches long. It has a flat roof projecting 4 inches on all sides and 

 covered with prepared roofing. . This box is placed on a stand about 8 or 10 inches 

 high, made of four boards % inch by 8 or 10 inches, nailed into a rectangle. The 

 ends are cut 40 inches and the sides 451/^ inches long. 



They are nailed up with the shorter pieces nailed on the ends of the longer 

 ones, and the outside dimensions of the resulting stand are 4Q inches by 47^^ 



Fig 1. — Side elevation of 4-liive Wintering Box, with 

 side cut away to show construction. 



inches. To make the floor of the wintering box, first lay down three pieces, each 

 2 inches square by 40 inches long; then nail on' these %-iiich matched lumber, cut 

 451/2 inches long, making the floor 40 inches by 451/2 inches. It will be seen 'that 

 when this floor is laid on the stand it comes just even with it at the sides but is 

 ys inch short of it at each end. In other words, the outside length of the stand 

 and of the wintering box are the same, making a smooth surface from the ground 

 up, where the bees have, their flight holes, but the stand is made narrower as a con- 

 venient way of supporting the cross cleats of the floor. 



After the stand, with the floor in place, is levelled up with a spirit level, using 

 scraps of thin lumber under the corners, a board Yg inch by 4 inches by Se'inches 

 is laid flat across the middle of the floor to support the backs of the four hives 

 giving them a tilt forward toward the ends of the box. The four hives are placed 

 close together with the four corners meeting at the exact centre of the floor. The 



