FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 97 



as wet as if dipped in the river. I had the young trees 

 thinned out and trimmed up, the corn-ground in grass, so. 



-AV^. 31. — Foundation with Splint Supports. 



the air could get through, and I now work with more 

 comfort, and no comb has melted down for 20 years. 



Sometimes I have found it desirable to shade one or 

 more hives singly. An armful of the longest fresh-cut 

 grass obtainable is laid on the hive-cover, and weighted 

 down with two or three sticks of stove-wood. But I do 

 not think anything of the kind is needed on double covers. 



MOVABLE SHADE. 



For hives that are not in the shade, especially during 

 certain parts of the day, a movable shade (Fig. 58) is a 

 great comfort to the operator when the sun shines with 

 lilistering heat. Four standards are made of 7-16 inch 

 rod-iron. Take a piece of the iron 6 feet 2 inches long; 

 bend the upper end into a ring or eye, and sharpen the 



