HIVES. 



241 



HIVES. 



side of their hives, a far simpler form of 

 hive was devised. The Simplicity, first 

 brought out by A. I. Root, having Lang- 

 stroth dimensions, was the result. Instead 

 of having telescoping covers the contigu- 

 ous edges of the hive were beveled so as to 

 shed water and give in effect a telescoping 

 cover. The cover and bottom of this hive 

 were exactly alike, the entrance being form- 

 ed by shoving the hive forward on the bot- 

 tom, thus making an entrance as wide or 

 narrow as seemed most desirable. The 

 upper story was exactly the same as the low- 

 er one or brood-nest — so, taking it all in all, 

 the hive was simplicity itself. But it had 

 one serious defect, and that was the beveled 

 edge. It was found to be practically impos- 

 sible at times, on account of the bee-glue, to 

 separate the upper story from the lower one 

 without breaking or splitting the bevel. Fi- 

 nally there was introduced a hive very much 

 the same, having straight square edges, and 

 along with it came the feature of dovetailing 

 or locking the corners, as shown in the hive 

 below. 



This hive was mtroduced m 1889, and 

 seemed to meet with the general approba- 

 tion of bee-keepers. -It embodied in the 



eight frames. The original Dovetailed hive 

 had a flat cover, and a bottom-board made 

 the same as the cover, except that there were 

 side-cleats to raise the hive off the bottom- 

 board. 



Since that time there have been modifica- 

 tions of the hive, and it is now made in eight, 

 ten, twelve, and sixteen frame sizes. The 

 cover is made of six pieces. The body is 

 locked at the corners, and the bottom-board 

 is made in several styles. See Entrances. 



The Hoffman self-spacing frame, describ- 

 ed under Frames, Self - spacing, and 

 Frames, Manipulating, is used in the 

 Dovetailed hive almost exclusively. The 

 usual width of the hive is eight-frame, al- 

 though there seems to be a tendency toward 

 the ten and twelve frame sizes. The supers 

 for this hive are the same as those shown 

 under Comb Honey. 



As now constructed tlie liive embodies the 

 very latest developments in hives and hive- 

 construction. It can l)e handled rapidly, 

 and is especially adapted for out-apiary 

 work, where frequent moving from one field 

 to another is necessary. It is standard, 

 being made by all the supply-manufacturing 

 concerns, and is for sale everywhere. The 



main the Laugstroth dimensions, but used 

 eight instead of ten frames ; for at the time 

 it was introduced, nearly every one preferred 



lock corner is especially well adapted for hot 

 climates : and for any place it is far superior 

 to work depending on Jiails alone. The ordi- 

 nary miter or halved joint is inclined to pull 

 apart in parts of California, Texas, Florida, 

 and other portions of our country subject to 

 extremes of heat, or hot dry winds. 



A very important requisite of a good hive 

 is a good cover. While the flat cover— one 

 making use of one flat board and two cleats 

 — was a good one, yet, owing to the width of 

 the single board, and increasing scarcity of 

 such lumber, something made of two or 

 three narrow boards had to be used. Ac- 

 cordingly, the Excelsior was devised. It 

 consists of boards not exceeding 6 inches in 

 width, for narrow boards will not shrink 

 and check from the influence of the weather 



