842 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



A CHEAP SERVICEABLE HIVE MADE FROM 

 PARAFFIN BOXES. 



By S, H. Skaife, M.A., M.Sc, Entomologist, School of 

 Agriculture, Cedara, Natal. 



At the recent agricultural shows held at Pietermaritzburg and 

 Durban a double-sided hive for Hoffman frames was shown as part of 

 the Cedara School of Agriculture exhibit. This hive, which was 

 made entirely out of empty paraffin cases by the students at Cedara, 

 attracted a good deal of attention, and many inquiries were received 

 concerning the details of its construction. The following directions 

 are, therefore, given more especially in the interests of those desirous 

 of keeping a few colonies of bees, who are deterred from making a 

 start by the initial outlay involved. These directions are not intended 

 for the skilled carpenter, but only for the average man who has little 

 time or skill to devote to the elaboration of dove-tailed joints and 

 other refinements of the highly finished article. 



A photograph of the complete hive, in use in the apiary at the 

 above school, is shown in figure 4. Its construction is simplicitj- 

 itself ; the only tools required are hammer, saw, and plane, and the 

 materials from which it is constructed consist of a few empty paraffin 

 or petrol boxes. The component parts of the hive are shown in 

 figure 5. 



The paraffin box is just of the size required for the brood 

 chamber, and this fact does away with much tiresome measuring and 

 ensures a certain degree of accuracy otherwise difficult to attain. The 

 brood chamber (figures 1-3) consists essentially of an empty paraffin 

 box from which the sides have been removed, the lid replaced, and 

 the whole turned on its side. The box, when taken this way, will 

 just accommodate ten Hoffman brood frames, but the sides are too 

 thin to afford the requisite amount of strength or of protection for the 

 bees, hence they must be reinforced. 



Narrow strips of wood are nailed along each side, as shown in 

 figure 2, and on top of these a second side is nailed securely (figure 

 3). This not only greatly strengthens the box, but at the same time 

 makes a double side to the chamber with an air-space in between, 

 which keeps the bees cool in summer and warm in winter, a very 

 important factor in successful beekeeping. But the exposed ends 

 (figure 3e) are insufficiently protected from the weather and would 

 soon warp, hence these have to be bound in strips of tin cut from 

 empty paraffin tins (figure 5c). These strips are cut out wdth a pair 

 of tin shears to the shape shown in figure 7 and nailed on with half- 

 inch tacks. Binding the corners in this way renders them impervious 

 to the weather and makes the joints as strong as any dove-tailed joint 

 could be. 



To complete the brood chamber, pieces of wood have to be nailed 

 on the inner side of each end to form ledges for the support of the 

 frames. A longitudinal cross-section of the brood chamber, with a 



