18 ALEXANDER'S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 



almost say the necessity — of adopting some one o£ 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 ALEXA.NDEJS SUPEK-COVEKS ABE MADE; BETAININQ 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 V* inch thick, which leaves a 14-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 i4-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 %-lnch 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 liquefy, and prevents the bees from carrying it out of 

 their hives, where it is lost. 



October, 1907. 



