364 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
both with bees and their masters. It is highly 
desirable, however, that the hives stand level, so 
that the frames hang plumb, or awkward combs 
will be built. Weeds should also be kept clear of 
the alighting-boards and around the front of the 
hives. To this end, a thick layer of sawdust is 
recommended to be laid on the surface of the ground ; 
but spent tan is even more effectual, and less likely 
to be disturbed by wind. 
Single stands admit of greater facility, in many 
manipulations, than is possible with the house apiary, in 
which the operating-house gives accommodation to the 
hives, whose mouths are openings in its walls, the latter 
also carrying the alighting-boards. Many bee-keepers 
would prefer a combination of systems, keeping the 
bulk of the stocks on separate stands, and a few dis- 
posed around the operating-room. The main difficulty 
with all bee-houses arises’ from the young bees, which, 
if a hive is opened on a sunny afternoon, or in bright 
weather after rain, frequently fly out in numbers, and, not 
knowing the legitimate entrance, will insist on returning 
to their home by the road by which they left it, and 
if they are driven out of the house and the door 
closed, will, in despair, collect in a sulky little cluster. 
Mr. Root says of these, “ they are seldom lost, for 
they will usually be allowed to enter the hives nearest 
the door;’’ but this weakens their proper stock, and is 
apt to puzzle a novice sorely. 
Square or oblong houses would not safely accom- 
modate so many bees as octagonal ones, because a 
long string of hives on a side would be likely to trap 
flying queens into the wrong entrances, to their all but 
