FRAMES, SELF-Sl'ACING. 



20(j 



FRAMES, SEJ.F-SPACING. 



si)aw(l by eye — or, ;is solium huve termed it, 

 •' \.\ guesswork." Such spacing results in 

 more or less uneven combs ; and beginners, 

 as a rule, make very poor work of it. The ad- 

 vocates of self-spacing frames claim that they 

 get even perfect combs, no burr-combs, and 

 that, without any guesswork, the combs are 

 si)aced accurately and equally distant from 

 one another. Self-spacing frames are always 

 ready for moving the hives, either to an out- 

 yard, to and from the cellar, or for ordinary 

 carrying around the apiary. Loose frames, 

 on the contrary, while they are never spaced 

 exactly, often can not be hauled to an out- 

 apiary, over rough roads, without having 

 sticks between them, or something to hold 

 them in place. It is contended by some, 

 also, that spaced frames can be handled more 

 rapidly. See Frames, Manipulating. On 



Ileddon, the Hoffman, liie thick-top stajyle- 

 spaced, metal-spaced ITolfman,and the nail- 

 spaced. 



The closed-end Quinby is, as its name 

 indicates, one whose end-bars are wide 

 their entire length. The top and bottom 

 bars are one inch wide. These closed up- 

 rights, or ends, when they come in direct 

 contact, cause the combs which they con- 

 tain to be spaced accurately from center t o 

 center. Fig. 1, A, shows one such frame. 

 Several of the closed-end frames are made 

 to stand, and have very often been called 

 " standing frames.'' Mr. Quinby, in order 

 to keep such frames from toppling over, in- 

 vented the strap-iron hook on one corner, as 

 show^n in Fig. 1, re-engraved from Cheshire. 

 Ii is the hook that engages the strap iron i}/ 

 in the bottom-board ; gr is a groove to admit 



FIG. 1.— HOW THE (^UlNUY FRAME HOOKS ON TO THE HOT'J'OM. —i^/'OHi Cheshire. 



the other hand,- the advocates of the loose 

 i'rame urge, as an objection to the self- 

 spacers, that they kill bees. 



This depends. The careless operator may 

 kill a good many bees. If he u.ses a little 

 common sense, a little iiatience, applying a 

 whiff or two of smoke between the parts of 

 the frames that come in contact, he will not 

 kill any bees. All this talk about self- spac- 

 ing frames— Hoffman and closed-end type — 

 killing bees emanates from a class v\ ho have 

 never used them, and aie therefore incom- 

 petent to render judgment. The fact that 

 some of the most extensive bee-keepers of 

 the world are using self-spacing frames, and 

 the further fact that the number of self- 

 sinicing-frame users are constantly increas- 

 ing, shows that this supposed bee-killing is 

 more fancied than real. 



There are a good many styles of self- 

 spacing frames. We will describe, first, 

 those most commonly used in this country 

 and then show some of the others that are 

 or have been used in Europe. Among the 

 first mentioned we might mention the 

 closed-end (Juinby, the Danzenbaker, the 



of the hook, and at the same time render 

 it possible to catch under the strap iron. 



These hooks are on the outside of the hive 

 proper, and hence they do not kill bees, nor 

 are they filled with propolis as they would 

 be if made on the inside of the hive. A and B 

 are respectively the frame and the follower, 

 although they are drawn somewhat out of 

 proportion. With a panel on each side, a 

 cover and a bottom - board, the Quinby- 

 Hetheiington hive is complete, the ends of 

 the frames forming the ends of the hive ; 

 although, for additional protection in the 

 spring, Mr. Elwood and Mr. Hetherington 

 both use the outside case to set down over 

 the whole. This makes a very cheap hive, 

 and has many desirable leaturts in it. For 

 fuller details in regard to this frame, and its 

 manner of construction, the reader is refer- 

 red to " Quinbys New 15ee-keei)ing.'' 



DANZENBAKER CLOSED END FRAMES. 



The closed-end frame that iromises to 

 displace all others of this kind, and which, 

 perhaps, is to-day the most extensively used 

 of any of its class in the United States, is the 



