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MANAGEMENT OF HONEY-BEES.-NO. 4. 
MANAGEMENT OF HONEY-BEES.—No. 4. | 
The only covering or roofing necessary for hives 
placed as before described, is a couple of boards, 
say 15 inches wide, fastened together with stout 
leather hinges, and placed upon the top of the 
hives, with a small block of wood upon each hive, 
in order to raise the centre of the boards, and give 
a descent to the sides, to carry off water. Previous 
to strapping the boards together, they should be 
secured from warping by cleats upon the upper 
sides, fastened with wrought nails. When there 
are several hives to cover, it is best to divide the 
roof into strips of six feet long, or half the length 
of ordinary boards, for the greater convenience of 
removing them, which, at certain seasons, is neces¬ 
sary to do, in order to remove hives from one sta¬ 
tion to another—a very important matter—as will 
be shown hereafter. This roofing may be secured 
from removal by heavyweights,by cords attached 
to the sides, and secured to the posts that support 
the hives. The question may be asked why it is 
necessary to have any roof at all. A roof of about 
2| to 3 feet wide, is important for various reasons, 
[n the first place, to protect the hives from natural 
decay. Secondly, it affords protection to the bees 
when they cluster out largely, as they will take to 
the inner sides of the hives, and thus be secure in 
almost any storm. Thirdly, it protects the supers 
from the melting rays of the sun, which would en¬ 
danger the combs. I once found the honey run¬ 
ning in a stream from the bottom board of one of 
my hives, and on examination I found the combs 
in the super melted down flat, from the effects of a 
June sun, in a case in which I had omitted to cover 
the hive. Even the old combs below would be in 
danger of melting, without any roof; but this kind 
of roof will shade the hives half-way down to the 
bottom, which is sufficient. In the spring of the 
year, let the roof be removed back, so as to present 
the entire front of the hives to the sun, as it helps 
generate the necessary heat within to bring forward 
the young brood. As the season advances, say 
about the first of June, then let the roof be brought 
forward to the centre, if fronting the east, and some¬ 
what past the centre, if fronting the south, in order 
to give the bees the greater shade. 
I consider this kind of bee-stand as the most 
economical, and, at the same time, the best adapted 
to the natural requirement of bees. It allows the 
hives to be suspended , instead of resting upon a 
shelf or board at the bottom, and permits the 
bottom-board to be suspended also, with small wire 
hooks, the importance of which has already been 
spoken of. It gives a free circulation of air around 
the hives, and affords as little shelter to the insects 
as possible; and when they do get a footing, one 
has an easy opportunity to dislodge them. When 
made with care, with posts planed and painted, its 
appearance is not bad, but rough posts and rough 
boards for a roof, with a good coat of whitewash, 
will answer the purpose very well. 
The situation of the bee-stand will next claim 
our attention. The reader will, as a matter of 
course, say, “ it should front the south,” because 
he has always seen them so. I admit that we gene¬ 
rally see tftern so, and we also see the hive housed 
up in the warmest possible situation in the winter 
season, where not a breatn of air can reach them, 
| except from the south, and we find such situations 
calculated to decoy out the bees in the dead of 
winter, when the sun shines clear! But do these 
bees ever return ? Look upon the snow r around 
your bee-stands—that will answer the question. I 
I have often seen the old women, and even men, 
picking up the torpid bees in pans, and endeavor¬ 
ing to warm them into life; and if they should be 
restored to the hives, perhaps the next day they 
would be found in the same condition. These 
people had not sense enough to know, that by 
beating out the backs and ends of their bee-houses, 
the bees would stay at home ! Well, my dear 
reader, if you have always seen bee-houses face 
the south, I do not care, I shall front mine to the 
east There were upon a time two certain husband¬ 
men living near each other; the one allowed his 
hired hands to sleep till the sun had reached a con¬ 
siderable altitude—and it was remarked how little 
he performed during the season. The other called 
forth his hired men as soon as the dawn of day 
would admit, and people were astonished at the 
quantity of produce gathered into his barns! 
Now, the result of two stocks of bees, the one 
facing the east, and the other the south, may not be 
dissimilar. The bees facing the south wait for the 
morning sun to throw his rays upon their place of 
egress, before they will venture forth, which is 
some two hours later than upon the hives facing the 
east. Then you will see the bees of the one at 
work long before the bees of the other think of 
sallying forth, and the result of their labors, when 
the honey-season is past, may not be disproportion¬ 
ate to the result of the labors of the two husband¬ 
men. This difference of the bees departing to th« 
fields in the morning, is the most perceptible in the 
months of May and June. When the heat of 
summer approaches, there is not so much difference, 
from the fact, that the bees find the temperature, at 
any time, suited to their wants. When there is but 
a single hive suspended on my plan, with the bot¬ 
tom-board hung so as to admit ingress and egress 
from all sides, it does not matter how it fronts ; but 
when there is a tier of hives, they should face the 
east, as the easterly end hive would only be rightly 
placed if all should face the south. The bee-stand 
must either face the south or the east. It will do 
well to front the south, but better to front the east; 
and in either of these positions, it should be ex¬ 
posed to the full force of the sun. In the spring it 
is very important, but not so much so in the sum¬ 
mer. Avoid the shade of trees, for the drippings 
retard the bees in sallying forth after showers. Let 
your location be one without shelter from any quar 
ter, and particularly where the winter winds will 
have a fair chance to sweep among the hives, for 
by this means the bees are kept at home, where 
they belong in the winter season. I do not advo¬ 
cate a change of situation for hives in winter, as 
some do. It is attended with too much trouble 
where there are many hives, and a good winter lo¬ 
cation is a good summer location, and vice versa. 
If your dwelling stands very near to the banks of a 
river, pond, or lake, place the stands as far from the 
water as possible, as the bees are liable to be forced 
down into the water, by high winds, while they are 
returning home heavily laden. T. B. Miner. 
Ravenswood , L /., Sept. 1 6th, 1846 
