SHELTERING. 



359 



642. But we highly recommend the use of these hives, 

 to the bee-keepers who do uot wish to go to the trouble of 

 sheltering their bees every Winter. With the chaff-hive, it 

 is a matter of only a few minutes to put into Winter-quarters 

 a colony that has suf5ficient stores and bees. As to the ad- 

 vantage, claimed for these hives, of keeping weak colonies 

 warm, in the Spring, we found it counterbalanced by the loss 



Fig. 135. 



OUTER COVERING. 



As used by J. G. Norton and others. One side is removed to show the 

 hive within. 



of the sun's heat during the first warm days, and y^e found 

 that bees bred as fast, in our ordinary hives (double only on 

 the windward sides) owing to the quick absorption of the 

 sun's rays by the boards. 



643. To obtain the advantages of the chaff-hive without 

 any of its disadvantages and at the same time retain in use 

 the single-wall Langstroth or dovetailed hives, some bee- 

 keepers have devised outer-boxes to be placed over the colonies 

 during Winter, and removed in Spring. These can be filled 



