PEARCE METHOD OP BEE-KEEPING 33 



CHAPTER XIII 



Some of the Advantages of Having Bees in Buildings Above 

 Ground Instead of Outside as Formerly Kept. 



One of the first I will mention is, less liability of bees 

 stinging when properly placed in buildings during the hand- 

 ling of them. The operator being shut away from the active 

 flying bees from the hive entrance is not much disturbed 

 by what few bees that leave the combs while handling them, 

 and instead of annoying the operator they are looking for a 

 way to escape from the building, and if the windows are 

 provided with suitable openings, all bees will rapidly escape 

 and make no trouble. Then bees in buildings do not have to 

 be moved winter nor summer. When we used to place our 

 bees in the cellar in the late fall and remove them in the 

 spring, it was always attended with a good deal of anviety 

 to know just when to make these movements, without much 

 disturbance and considerable loss to the bees, and I feel 

 greatly relieved without these two movements a year, 

 besides the advantage of a much superior wintering and 

 healthier condition of the bees in the spring. When it comes 

 to working the bees, we have them elevated in the house 

 about 20 inches, which makes all kinds of difference in work- 

 ing with them. Outside on the ground, it is without the 

 shade that the house affords, which reminds me of what a 

 relief such shelters would be in the far south where the 

 houses could have shutters to open on the sides for air and 

 light. And working under such a canopy must be greatly 

 valued by our southern bee-keepers, lumber also being much 

 cheaper there than here. The advantage of having a shelter 

 at hand with the bees, where we can keep our appliancs to 

 work with, cannot be too highly appreciated, as we do not 

 have to go back and forth to a honey or supply house to get 

 the fixtures we need. The value of this alone and the benefit 

 of the shelter from storms and the shade afforded would go 

 far towards paying for the construction of the shelter. And 

 when we look at our bees so nicely housed away from all the 

 severe storms, it makes one wonder that any one should ever 

 leave their bees out where it is impossible to keep the 

 entrances of the hives open for proper ventilation that is so 

 essential most of the time. But one of the greatest benefits 

 from a shelter is that we can work with our bees in almost 

 all kinds of weather. When if they were outside we would 



