THE HONEY-BEE. 
161 
Covered apiaries, or bee-houses, are common m 
England, and are sometimes, though rarely, met with 
in Scotland ; they have their advantages, but are 
not without serious drawbacks. They afford shel- 
ter from the extremes of heat and cold, and, when 
properly constructed, are also a complete protec- 
tion from thieves. But when the number of hives 
is great, the expense of such structures is so con- 
siderable as to preclude entirely their being brought 
into common use. Besides, their confined limits 
render it necessary to place the hives quite close to 
one another — an arrangement which we have already 
noticed as a great evil. And, finally, in operating 
experimentally on any particular hive, the whole 
colony is apt to take the alarm, and to cause a degree 
of confusion most inconvenient to the operator. 
There are covered apiaries sometimes to be met with, 
the superior construction of which precludes these 
evils ; but a much greater number have fallen under 
our observation where the cheapness of the erection 
has interfered materially with their completeness 
and utility. The disadvantages above specified may 
all be avoided in open apiaries ; while in these last, 
also, all the advantages for which the former are pre- 
ferred, are, we are persuaded, perfectly attainable. 
A good thick coat of oat or rye-straw, if the hives 
be of that material ; or, if of timber, a well-seasoned 
and painted surtout of fir-plank, three-fourths of an 
inch in thickness, resting on the floor-board, and hav- 
ing a vacant space of an inch between it and the hive, 
will be quite sufficient security against the extremes 
of heat and cold. 
L 
