PtmiNa ON AND TAKING OFF BOXES. 135 



BOX FOK WREN. 



If you would take the trouble to put up a cage or two 

 for the wren to nest in, he would be a valuable assistant 

 in this department of your labor. He would be on the 

 lookout when you were away, and many worms, while 

 looking up quiet lodgings, would be relieved fi;om all fur 

 ther trouble by being deposited in his crop. The cage 

 need not be more than four inches square, and should be 

 fastened as near as possible to the bees, to a post, tree, 

 or side of a building, a few feet froui the ground. The 

 skull of some animal, (horse or ox) is very convenient for 

 them, the cavity for the brains being used for the nest. A 

 person once told me the wren would not build in one that 

 he had put up. On examination, the stake to support it 

 was found driven into the only entrance^' I mention this 

 to show how little some people understand what they are 

 doing. It is sometimes as well to know why a thing is to 

 be done, as to know it nrnst be done. If this prolixity is 

 unnecessary for one, it may benefit another. Tou must 

 remember that some bee-keepers are not over supplied 

 with ingenuity, and must receive very explicit directions. 



CHAPTER IX. 



PUTTING ON AND TAKING OFF BOXES. 

 MUST NOT BE PUT ON TOO EARLY. 



Putting^ on bojjes may be considered a duty intermedi- 

 ate between spring and summer management. I can not 

 recommend puttmg them on, in ordinary circumstances, as 

 early as the last of April or first of May. Before the hive 

 is fall of bees, it is generally useless, quite likely a disad- 

 vantage, by allowing a portion of animal heat to escape. 



