THE APIAKY. 301 



overrun with grass, that the bees were compelled to crawl 

 through a tangled mat to enter their homes ! 



If the alighting boards are properly constructed, it will be 

 best to set the hives about two feet from the ground ; as this 

 will make them most convenient for all purposes of super- 

 intendence by their owner. If the entrances and alighting 

 boards are, however, so arranged that the bees in windy 

 days, are liable to be blown down upon the ground, then the 

 lower the hives stand, the better. 



The cheapest, and probably the best stand for hives, is 

 made, by driving four stakes or posts into the ground, and 

 nailing to them two narrow strips of wood ; the back parts 

 should be at least three inches higher than the front ones, to 

 give the proper slant to the roof to carry off rain, and to the 

 bottom board for the purposes mentioned on page 102. 

 Such stands may be made to accommodate a number of 

 hives, although, unless room is very scarce, no more than 

 two should be put upon them, and ihese should have an in- 

 terval between them, of at least a foot. These stands, if 

 designed for the movable-comb hive, must not slant from 

 right to lefl, or the frames would be thrown out of level, so 

 as to incline to each other, and this would interfere with the 

 regular building of the combs. 



I am entirely opposed, for reasons previously assigned, to 

 the building of covered Apiaries. If the hives are properly 

 constructed, and thoroughly painted, they may stand without 

 any protection ; and if they are not, then a simple roof of 

 boards, which will turn the rain, and shelter them from the 

 sun, will be all sufficient. 



I prefer in the management of my own Apiary, to keep 



my colonies under the shade of trees. In the early part of 



the season, when the sun is grateful to them, it shines upon 



them with full power, and as soon as it becomes hot enough 



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