58 
A Year among the bees. 
they are taken in on small boards. I happened to have a 
large number of thin boards about 13 inches long and 4 inches 
wide ; these are mainly used, although larger would be better. 
Two of the fence-board shelves are put up about 13 inches 
from centre to centre. The little boards filled with sections 
are placed with an end at the middle of each shelf-board. 
As fast as needed, shelves are added till the room is full. 
Three or four tons of honey can thus be put on these shelves. 
FUMIGATING SECTIONS. 
Generally, I endeavor to fumigate sections within two 
weeks after taking them off, and then give them a second 
smoking two weeks later. Sometimes I have let them go 
without, and I am not sure that fumigating is necessary, 
provided no sections contain pollen, and no dead bees are in 
or about the sections. I am not sure that I have ever seen 
any mention of it, but I have seen wax-worms in many cases, 
bred in or upon the bodies of dead bees. 
.The operation of fumigating is very simple. I fill an old 
iron-kettle one-third or one-half full of ashes. Into this I 
put a smaller iron vessel, into which I put a pound of 
sulphur. I do not like the coarse or roll brimstone, because 
it is so troublesome to keep burning. The sulphur is put in 
a compact pile, and a lighted match laid upon it. The door 
of the smoke-room is then shut, and not opened for 24 hours. 
A small hole, 3 or 4 inches square, in' the door, is covered 
with glass, through which I can peep to see if the sulphur is 
burning. I can see no flames, only the smoke arising ; an old 
tin pan being inverted over the kettle, as a safeguard, and 
also to make the burning slower. I never knew the fire to 
go out when once fairly started. 
Sometimes I fumigate a lot of supers containing sections. 
The supers are piled alternately in opposite directions, or 
arranged in some way so that the fumes can freely get to all 
the sections. If they are in the main part of the the honey- 
room, I use not less than two pounds of sulphur. I have 
sometimes gone into the room when it was filled with fumes 
