.346 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Off. Doc. 



The size of frame used more than any other, called the Langstroth 

 frajiie (although any movable frame might fairly be called a Langs- 

 :troth frame), is 17| inches in length and 9^ inches deep. The most 



popular form of hive in which 

 this frame is used is the dove- 

 tailed hive, so called because 

 its corners are locked to- 

 gether somewhat after the 

 manner of dove-tailing. The 

 body is little more than a 

 jdaiii box to hold the frames. 

 The beginner will do well to 

 start with the dove-tailed hive, 

 not because it is so much 

 better than all others, but be- 

 cause it is ar sort of standard 

 article, made bv the thou- 

 sands by supply manufactur- 

 DOVE-TAILED HIVE. ers, and to be obtained at a 



(By permission from Roofs A B C of Bee Culture.) lowCr rate, bCCaUSe Standard, 



;and also because it can be obtained at any time from some dealer in 

 bee-keeping supplies at no great distance. 



If you use box hives, it will be an easy thing for you to make your 

 •own hives. It does not matter if no two are exactly alike. But the 

 •case is different with movable-frame hives. Very few, indeed, are so 

 situated, as to make a movable hive as good or as cheap as those 

 that are made with the use of special machinery at the large manu- 

 factories. In most cases it is better to buy hives in the flat and nail 

 them together yourself. The nailing is a simple matter, and the 

 freight is much less on hives in the flat than on those nailed together. 

 Some of the advantages of movable combs may be mentioned here. 

 •Combs and bees mav be interchanged from one hive to another, and 

 the whole of the inside of the hive can be examined, whereas* the inside 

 ■of a box hive, is a sealed book. The queen can be found, and if she 

 is a drone-layer, or if the colony is queenless, the fact can be ascer- 

 tained and steps taken accordingly. If increase isi desired and 

 the bees refuse to swarm, the bee-keeper with movable combs can 

 make artificial swarms. Swarming may be to some extent controlled 

 by giving additional room. The production of useless drones may 

 be prevented by allowing little or no drone comb in (he hive. Some- 

 -times it hapjK'us that the wealth of a colony is its ruin. The combs 

 are all filled with honey, and the queen has no place to lay. With 

 •movable combs it is an easy matter to remedy this. But it must 

 ^e remembered that for the proper use of movable combs, intelligent 

 /information on the part of the bee-keeper is necessary, and if the 



