154 miner's ameeican 



pertures in the top for the bees to pass through into the 

 box above, when the upper box is on. I use an inch 

 and a quarter bit, and make_^ue holes; one in the cen- 

 tre, and one about half way from the centre to each 

 corner, always being sure that all the holes will come 

 within the diameter of the super, and have some space 

 to spare. These holes I stop with plugs made to nicely 

 fit, and leave the ends out far enough to take hold of, 

 and with a slight tap of the hammer, be able to remove 

 them at pleasure. I allow them to reach through the 

 thickness of the cover, or top of the hive, but no farther. 

 They should be made to fit so close, that water will not 

 pass into the hive, through the holes when plugged. 



The super, or upper box, I construct of the same di- 

 ameter as the lower one, but only eight inches deep, in- 

 stead of twelve, the depth of the lower box. I allow the 

 top board of this also to project a little, say an inch. 

 The looks of the hive is much improved by this projec- 

 tion, and the boxes are removed from place to place, 

 when necessary, much more easily. When I put a 

 swarm into the lower box, I generally leave off the upper 

 one during the first season, because here on Long Island, 

 the bees generally have as much as they can do the first 

 season to fill the lower one ; but in many places, both 

 boxes would be easily filled. The spring following, I 

 unstop the holes and put on the super. As the bees in- 

 crease they enter it, and by swarming time I generally 

 find it half filled with combs, and sometimes quite filled, 

 and the bees densely packed within it. When a swarm 

 goes off, the super is emptied of its bees, and sometimes 



