THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3830, 9 August 1927, Page 11

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

HOME HIVE-MAKING. As a rule I do not advocate amateur ’■‘Ork in hive-making. Experience has shown that in the commercial apiary very exact work is required. The supers, floors, and" roofs must be interchangeable, and if any of these have peculiarities of their own they cause no end of annoyance to the beekeeper. Factory work is the best work. It turns out an article that, if properly put together, will be a source of satisfaction every time it is used. The trouble, as with most things, is the expense, and many a would-be beginner is held back for want of funds.

| When the writer first came to Nelson, some 11 years ago, apiary prospects in Lus district made only a very slight appeal to him, and to put bees into expensive hives made none at all. The only apparent object in keeping bees was for ieitilisation purposes. The law, however says that if bees are to be kept it must be in frame hives, properly constructed, so that an inspector wishing to examine them for disease may do so without trouble. This led to the adoption of petrol cases, as these were both cheap and plentiful, and had also the advantage of being almost identical in size, with the ordinary 10-frame super. — Supers.— M hen petrol cases come to be closely examined it will be found that different brands vary slightly in size, and as variations of that sort does not do in beekeeping it is necessary to cut to a pattern. Io begin with, it is necessary to take the cases to pieces, drawing all nails and sorting out the timber to sizes. If tlm Hmt S tof a -, mix « d 10 / it "-ill be noticed f sld ?, boalds ar e of different thicknesses It saves time to keep them separate. The super that is to be eonindff sho r d be Wlde enough so that 10 Hoffman frames will go in easily. Its depth snould be such that when a s frame ls -. T A he rabbet it will be even with the bottom and a clear quarter of aain nu bC i'° W the 3evel of the super on X-nv-’2d e f bee i Space below the frames is for by a strip put round the bottom board, while the iin space above t le frames Provide the bee space when the super with the next set of frames ’s Put on top The ends of some petrol cases will be found to be from Jin to gin too deep, and that is why it is better to depth. a Pattern ’ and to cll t to the exact Some begimier may ask, “ Why be so particular as to depth’” > oe so Well, the rule of the hive is that every space, exceeding a quarter of an inch wdl be built in by the bees and filled up with honey, and if, owing to widespacing, the space between the lower and upper combs is too wide it will be so illed, very much to the discomfort of the operator. The ends require rabbeting to carry the frames, and this can be done in two ways—either by using a rabbetin', plane and cutting it out. or by using some them le on lln X er n llle b T rds and them to the ends provide for the lubbeu in that way. The thin boards used in that way must cover all the 'end except the depth of the rabbet. Some use strips, but that leaves too wide a space between the end bars of the frames and the end of the super, and as a consequence is built up by the bees Th e best boards available should' be used for the sules of the supers, and should be full width it possible.. If the rabbet has been cut out of the ends, it will mean shortening the side boards correspondti - bar ? must be taken that the ablv fal-p *r’ and mP 3 comfortably take the frame. The nailing should be mit e in vP flat / head nails ’ " bich should ol put in very close.

— Bottom Boards.— Tliese should be made the exact overall width of the super. If they aro to builtVn h gr r Ud i lh 1 Sy Wi33 rec l uire to be built on hardwood sleepers; but if. as is preferable, they are to be placed on a Brd?> ar fi d stand then lin boards will do Both the stand and the bottom board weUhVnf toe' l be ? paced catch the weight of the hive fore and aft It has to b e remembered that the mateffial is ight. and may have to carry from lewt to 3cwt. Strips cut from the narrower b ° ards should be put round the two sides Sow S thC Uecdcd b - s pa -

— Roofs.— make 'a With S ? ch material to make a satisfactory roof. What I hava made are, however, proving quite goodThey are made flat, and are denendent on the stand for the droop to the front which runs the water off. When on the fhn e f t lele 1S tbe ’ in s P a ce between ±i fr ml eS ! and the roof - and no mat * s used. The bees make it tight with burr eombs and a black glue, which in this district is very abundant. There is no telescoping; it is built on 4in by Ito boards, and is boarded both above and °-?i S °i 3t ' co ’ dd be called re S b?e ’ P Ut P° r i t3le fact that over the i- Xr'i tle top hoandmg another board but in C H ?S a ,- cov . er board. It is simple, but in this climate it is all right made in this way will last a long time if given a coat of paint, and u'n 1 c l ?? lxed P ai nt and a wide brush this is easily- given, and well worth it