96 FIFTY TEARS AMONG THE BEES 



TIN COVERS WITH DEAD-AIR SPACE. 



I have fifty covers that I like very much. They are double - 

 board covers, the boards being % thick, the grain of the upper 

 and lower boards running in opposite directions, with a % 

 dead-air space between them ; at least it would be dead-air if it 

 were not for cracks, and I do not consider the cracks a neces- 

 sary part if the covers were properly made. The whole is cov- 

 ered with tin and painted white. The lower surface is per- 

 fectly flat, with no cleat projecting downward, for such cleats 

 do not help rapid and easy handling. Such a cover is light, 

 safe from warping and -twisting, is cooler in summer than the 

 plain board cover, and warmer in winter. The greatest objec- 

 tion is the cost; I think they cost 25 cents or more each. 



Two of these tin covers will be seen at Fig. 37, the one at 

 the right showing the under surface of the cover. 



ZINC COVERS. 



Fifty other covers are made on the sarae plan and covered 

 with zinc. These are not painted. So long as they remain 

 whole there' is no need of paint, and whenever there seems to 

 be a possibility of their approaching anything like a leaking 

 condition they can be covered with paint. The same might be 

 said of the tin, only I expect the zinc to stand the weather 

 unpainted much longer than the tin would. 



At Fig. 38 may be seen two of these zinc hive-covers. The 

 one at the right shows the upper or zinc surface. The left one 

 shows the under or wood surface; and if you look at the right 

 end of this last cover you will see that the upper layer of thin 

 board projects three-fourths of an inch so as to serve as a 

 handle. One of these covers weighs five pounds. 



A cover sent me by The A. I. Root Company covered with 

 paper and painted, has been in use several years, and so far 

 it seems to stand as well as zinc or tin. Possibly this paper 

 may do as well as the metal and save expense. I would rather 

 pay a good price for a good cover, rain-proof, bee-proof, non- 

 warping, non-twisting, with a dead-air space, than to take a 

 poor cover as a gift. 



The hundred covers I have mentioned were made specially 



