HIVES. 



252 



HIVES, EVOLUTION OP. 



tioiis can lie readily examined witiioiit open- 

 ing tlie hive. 



The hive shown in the illustration lias 

 a Hoor bjurd and cover of wood. The cor- 

 ner-posts are 1i inches in diameter, having 

 longitudinal saw-grooves at the proper an- 

 gles to receive the glass— at the ends and 

 also at the sides. The ends of the posts 

 are reduced in diameter, tiius leaving a 



shoulder. These shanks are then set down 

 into holes bored in the floor-board at the 

 right points. The glass is slipped into the 

 grooves in the post, when the frames are 

 supported on wire staples driven into the 

 iloor-board. It would not be practicable to 

 use tin rabbets in a hive with gla>s ends, so 

 none are iised. As the frames stand, they 

 are secured together at tlie top so as to hold 

 their position. Hoffman frames are 

 eminently well adapted to this purpose. 

 An observatory hive having fresh 

 bees put into it every week or two, and 

 disi)layed in a window where honey is 

 on sale, will do much to stimulate the 

 demand for it. When shown at county 

 fairs they are the means of eliciting a 

 great amount of interest and questions. 

 If the exhibitor hangs out his business 

 card, giving prices of honey— genuine 

 l)ees' honey— it will do much to help 

 his trade. See Exhibits. £# 



HIVES, EVOLUTION OF. 



Primitive liives were simply the trunks 

 of trees in which bees were lodged, cut 

 down, and carried wherever the bee- 

 keeper desired. This plan of bee-keep- 

 ing is still i)racticed in some parts of 

 Europe, and is common enough in Africa. 

 The stingless-bee apiaries of Soutli Amer- 

 ica are made in this way. 



The next step was to consti'U(;t a cylinder 

 resembling the trunk of a tree, either of 

 wood or eartlienware. In northern climates 



straw^ came into use, but had to be fashioned 

 in tlie shape of a bell to make it easy of con- 

 struction. This is tlie kind of hive which 

 was so highly iiraised by poets, probably be- 

 cause it was the le.ist practical. It has the 

 merits of extreme simplicity and cheapness. 

 Usually it had cross-sticks addeil inside to 

 keep the combs from falling down on critical 

 occasions. See Skeps. 



Not all bee-keepers were satisfied with 

 these hives; and as early as the 17th century 

 some few began to cast about for some- 

 thing better. Delia Rocca, who wrote a 

 book on bees in the 18th century, mentions 

 bar hives as in vogue in the islands of the 

 Grecian Archipelago, where he lived for 

 many years. Such hives were known even 

 to the ancient Greeks. They resembled 

 large flower- pots with wooden bars on w^hich 

 the bees were to fasten their combs. The 

 shape of the hive made it practically im- 

 possible to cause a breakdown of the comlts 

 except by heat. 



The plan of a movable roof was another 

 step in advance, as it gave the bee-keeper an 

 opportunity to put on a super to hold the 

 surplus honey where it should be, and re- 

 move the same at the end of the honey har- 

 vest. 



Mewe, in Great Britain, constructed hives 

 of wood on somewhat the same plan as early 

 as 16-52, and these were gradually improved 

 by various inventors. 



1. — ruber's observation hive, showin*; 

 how combs could be removed for 

 study. — from cheshire. 



Maraldi, about the same era as Mewe, in- 

 vented a single-comb observation hive made 

 with glass sides, which contained the germ 

 of the movable-comb frame. He allowed 

 too much space for one comb, and frequent- 

 ly the bees built their comb crosswise. Still 

 there was in the Maraldi hive the important 



