88 
“novice’s” GLEANINGS IN BEE CUL'i'UKE. 
ANSWER TO PROBLEM JO. 
'POR each hive you will need two pieces 
(Jy of rather heavy galvanized iron 
■Jjxf inches. Three holes are lo be drill- 
ed iu each of these, one in the middle 
and one near each end. it is somewhat 
difficult to make it clear on paper, how 
these are to be used, but we will try. Iu 
the simplicity hive, it will be remembered, 
a strip goes across under each end of the 
cover, and two four-penny nails are used 
to nail this strip into the end of the longer 
strips. Now instead of the four-penny 
nails, use sixes, and drive them through 
two of the boles mentioned iu our hinge 
pieces, this will leave the strip of metal 
projecting (containing the third hole) 
down over the body of the hive; and 
it is plain that if we drive a strong 
nail through this hole into the hive, 
tve have the cover hinged quite substan- 
tially. To make il removable 'tis only 
necessary to make the last mentioned 
hole in tiie strip with an opening iu one 
side in such a way that when the cover is 
raised perpendicularly it can readily he 
lifted oft'. A cover with the strips attach- 
ed forms a gauge by which to drive t lie 
two nails on which it turns, and if the 
cover and hinge strips are alike, any 
cover will lit any hive. Still farther by 
driving two nails in the same way at the 
bottomyedge of the hive, (he cover can be 
readily attached to the bottom for winter- 
ing, which see in first article. Jly using a 
metal hook on the cover and one nail for 
it to hook over, on both upper and lower 
edge of the hive we can fasten the cover 
in a trice to either the bottom or top of' 
the hive. In making the device we were 
agreeably surprised to find tha(,the cover 
when raised up would stand alone, which 
it will not with common hinges. We can 
furnish the hinges or hooks for one cat/ 
each if desired. To work nicely the 
opening in the strip of metal should be j; 
of an inch from the lower end and should 
be deep enough to just reach the center 
of the strip, the strip being nailed flush 
with the stick to which it is attached both 
top and side. 
Novice says lie has made this matter a 
study at odd times for over a year ami 
that before he had reduced it, to its pres- 
ent state of cheapness, efficiency and sim- 
plicity, it cost him, he really believes, as 
much brain work as did the Ambrosial 
Honey Mr. Herman Flick. 
Any kind of a pair id' hinges requires 
at least eight screws. Novice's "great in- 
vention" requires none. 
P. S. — Since writing the above Novice 
has so far improved it as to be able to 
present a hive having no external indica- 
tions of a hinge whatever, and yet the 
cover is hinged very firmly and lifts oft' 
when straight up as before. It differs 
from the above in no respect only that 
(he strips of galvanized sheet iron form- 
ing the hinge are nailed between the strips 
that go around the cover instead of on the 
outside; and before uailing the hive, one 
of the side boards is sawed slightly shorter 
on egeb of the four corners, in such a way 
that space is left just sufficient for the 
metal ears to crowd in. Now drive a nail 
just right, down through the opening in 
the ear or hinge, and if your work is ac- 
curate, the cover works just beautifully, 
without a screw or nail more than is used 
in putting the hive together ordinarily. 
Novice keeps opening and shutting the 
hive every hour or two, and then looks 
for somebody’s bat to sail in token ot vic- 
tory of — of, hard and persevering study 
over lumber and metals. 
HEAPS OF GRAIN I'KII.II Jlll l ltK 
ENT I I El. IIS. 
loti. — 1 hayo astrong nucleus. How.er 
||M can I keep it ever safely? 
» sJ M. It. Uavis, Petersburg, Mich. 
It is possible to winter even a small nu- 
cleus hive, as many experiments have 
proved; but it is very difficult unless a 
warm, frost-proof cellar be at baud, and 
even then the greatest trouble comes in 
March and April, when it is important 
they should begin rearing brood. Weak 
colonies, as a general thing, may be win- 
tered easily in a proper repository; but 
1 lie trying time comes when they com- 
mence flying iu the spring in search of 
food. 
No- 1117. —Would you advise or approve the 
introduction ol' artificial boat, of steam, or 
of a stove from an adjoining room into the 
hec-room in severe weather, when it can be 
done without disturbing the bees? 
11. Aloysios, 
Corporation of New Milleroy, Town. 
Wc would not advise artificial heat, at 
least until we had good evidence of its 
utility. ’Twould In: very difficult to pre- 
vent some stocks from getting too warm, 
and we think, with such a house as we 
have advised, there would rarely be need 
o-l it, more especially il the room con- 
tained 40 or 50 colonics. It might be 
beneficial to weak colonies or nuclei, 
should any be so unfortunate (as we are 
now) as to have such, and a correspond- 
ent writes that our “lump nursery, ’ de- 
scribed last month, was just the idea he 
had been after, to moderate the tempera- 
ture of his bee house in the most severe 
weather. We may make some such experi- 
ments ourselves during the coming win- 
ter. 
A srnoNii colony can be wintered with- 
out a queen, hut we arc not sure that it 
pays. 
The bees that were fed the "gallon of 
sweet cider” looked decidedly like the 
“bee cholera’ during a cold “snap of 
three or four days. 
Hkhk we are again “all full," having 
used only two of the “Heads of Grain” 
out of nearly a whole field of valuable 
ones all ready for the printers. Novice 
says “taint his fault,” for wo must cither 
make our Journal larger or gel our friends 
to manifest less interest iu his work of 
hive making, feeding, etc. 
