350 STATE EOAED OF AGRICULTUEE. 



claimed for sucli large frames is that there are less to handle, and time is saved. 

 The advantage of the shallow frame is, as claimed, that the bees will go into 

 boxes more readily ; yet they are not considered so safe for ont-door wintering. 

 Another frame in common use is one about one foot square. I use one 11|- 

 inches square. The reasons that I prefer this form are, that the comb seldom 

 breaks from the frame, the frames arc convenient for nuclei, and save the expense 

 of constructing extra nucleus hives, and that these frames i^ermit the most com- 

 pact arrangement for winter and spring, and thus enable us to economize heat. 

 By use of a division board we can, by using eight of these frames, occupy just a 

 cubic foot of space in spring, and by repeated experiments I have found that a 

 hive so contracted that the bees alv/ays cover the combs during the early cold 

 weather, always gives the best results. 



now TO CONSTEUCT THE PEAMES. 



In this descrij)tion I shall suppose that the frames desired, are of the form 

 and size (Fig. 1"^), which I use. It will be easy for any 

 who may desire, to change the form at pleasure. 



For the top bar {a Fig. 17) of the frame, use a triangular 

 strip 12-J^-' long, with each face of the triangle 1' across. 

 One-half an inch from each end of this, form a shoulder, 

 by sawing from one angle to v.ithin f of an inch of the 

 opposite face, so that when the piece is split out from the 

 na. 17. end, these projections shall be just f of an inch thick 



throughout. For the side pieces take {h ~b Fig, 17,) strips llf inches long by f 

 by 3-10'. Tack with small brads the end of two of these strips Iirmly to the 

 shoulder of the top-bar,^taking pains that the end touches squarely against the 

 projection. Now tack the opposite ends or bottoms to the ends of a similar strip 

 {d Fig, 17.) 11.^' long. We shall thus have a square frame. The timber should 

 be thoroughly seasoned, and of the best pine or white-wood. Care should be 

 taken that the frame be made so as to hang vertically, when suspended on the 

 rabbets of the hive. In making frames a good mitre bos is indispensable. 

 The projecting ends of the top-bar will rest on the tins, and thus the frame 

 can be easily loosened at any time without jarring the bees, as the frames will 

 not be glued fast, as they would in case they rested on the wooden rabbets. 



COYEE FOE FRAMES, 



I^otliing that I have ever tried is equal to a quilt for this purpose. It is a 

 good absorbent of moisture, preserves the heat in spring and winter, and can be 

 used in summer without jarring or crushing the bees. This should be a real 

 quilt, made of firm unbleached factory, enclosing a thick layer of batting, and 

 hemmed about the edges. My wife quilts and hems them on a machine. The 

 quilting is in squares, and all is made in less than fifteen minutes. The quilt 

 should be a little larger than the top of the hive, so that after all possible 

 shrinkage, it will still cover closely. Thus when this is put on no bees can ever 

 get above it. When we use the feeder, it may be covered by the quilt, and a 

 flap cut in the latter, just above the hole in the feeder, enables us to feed with- 

 out disturbing the bees, though I place the feeder at the end of the chamber, 

 wherein are the bees, and have only to double the quilt back when I feed. 



DlVISIOISr BOAED, 



A close fitting division board, for contracting the chamber, is very important, 

 and though unappreciated by many excellent apiarists ; still no hive is complete 



