HIVES. 



i^.5() 



IIIVKS. 



DOUBLE -WALLED OR CHAFF 

 HI VES. 



The hives that we have thus far described 

 are what may be called sin^lf-walled hi\es; 

 that is, the outer shell or case consists of 

 a single-board thickness of lumber. Such 

 hives, as a rule, unless as large as the Da- 

 dant, can not very well be wintered outdoors 

 on their summer stands. They either have 

 to be carried into the cellar at the approach 

 of cold weather, or else have to be put in 

 outside packing-cases, as the single walls 

 hardly afford sufficient protection to enable 

 the average colony to go through the winter 

 safely, or without great loss both in bees and 

 in stores. The poorer ihe protection, the 

 greater tlie consumption of winter food. A 

 colony poorly protected outdoors will prob- 

 ably consume twice as much as one ade- 

 (juately protected. 



In the South, of course it is not necessary 

 to carry the single walled hives into the cel- 

 lar or winter repository ; but north of lati- 

 tude -lU, hives of single - board thickness 

 either ouglit to be housed or protected with 

 winter - cases. Where one from choice or 

 necessity has to winter outdoors, what are 

 known as doul)le - walled or chaff hives 

 should be used. These have the same inside 

 dimensions as the single-walled hive, ana 

 are generally made to take the same supers 

 and the same inside furniture. The first 

 double-walled hives that we used were two- 



HILTON S rWO-STOKY CHAFF HIVK. 



story ; but they were awkward and un- 

 wieldy things compared with tlie hives of 

 to-day. The one shown in the illustration 

 next following represents an eight-frame 

 Langsti-oth single story double-walled hive; 

 and as it rei)resents the simplest form of 



wintering hive, we will describe this only, 

 leaving the reader to adapt it to the dimen- 

 sions of whatever frame he is using. 



EIOlIT-FUAMIi DOVlirAILED DOUI5IJC-WALL- 

 ED HIVE. 



It can be made large or small ; so also the 

 distance between the w;ills may be increased 

 or diminished in accordance with the de- 

 mands of the locality in which one lives. 

 The outer wall consists of a shell of finch 

 lum))ei-, locked at the corners. This outer 

 shell should be made just large enough to 

 give two inches of space between tlie walls 

 for packing materiiil. In our locality a pack- 

 ing of two inches seems to answer very well. 

 The inner wall is simply a hive made of 

 f inch lumber, and is let down in the outer 



case, and secured to the same by means of a 

 water-table or pictiue-frame, as we may call 

 it, to shed water. Between the outer and 

 inner walls there is a boxed passageway, as 

 shown, for an entrance. 



The raised projection of the \\ater- table is 

 made to fit the upper story of an eight frame 

 Dovetailed hive, or any of the supers or cov- 

 ers of that hive ; and in summer the hive 

 may be tiered up as shown in the illustra- 

 tion next; and in winter it may be prepared 

 as described under Wintering, which see. 



At our own home apiary we prefer this 

 double-walled hive to the single because it 



