24 



Beekeeping 



and the beginner will use what he has at hand. One sug- 

 gestion is perhaps not amiss, if one may judge from the 

 honey-houses usually seen. The house should be large 



enough to permit the 

 storage of the surplus 

 fixtures out of season 

 and of the crop until 

 it is shipped. Beekeep- 

 ers frequently fail to 

 provide adequate space 

 for these uses. 



Windows and doors ^ 

 should be thoroughly 

 screened to prevent the 

 entrance of bees. The 

 door should swing freely 

 both ways (Fig. 18) so 

 that the beekeeper may 

 pass through with his 

 arms full. The window 

 screens are best made by tacking wire-cloth to the outside 

 of the window casings, allowing it to extend about six 

 inches above the opening. The upper border should be 

 held out one-quarter of an inch 

 by narrow wooden strips to pro- 

 vide abundant exits for bees 

 which accidentally get into the 

 house. Bees rarely enter such 

 openings and those which fly to 

 the screens from the inside im- 

 mediately crawl upward and go out, promptly clearing 

 the room of bees. Bee-escapes (Fig. 19) may be used 

 at the corners of ordinary framed window screens but 



Fig. 18. — Honey-house door. The 

 wooden door rolls clear of the opening 

 and the screen door swings both ways. 



Fig. 19. — Porter bee-escape. 



1 A. C. Miller has recently called attention to the desirability of a solid 

 door to the apiary house, so that bees will not be attracted to this opening 

 by the odor of honey. The suggestion is good and the desirability of 

 having such a door swing both ways still exists. 



