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AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



frame and the bottom of tiie one above it. The bees take advan 

 tage of this by building therein, much to the inconvenience of the 

 manipulator. This sagging is prevented by the use of the thick 

 top bar. The top bar is generally | inch. I have seen them 

 used a full inch but this is unnecessary. Of course, when the thick 

 top IS used, a shoulder must be cut in it on either end one inch 

 long, leaving | inch of wood to form it (^ inch for the thickness 

 of the end piece, i inch for bee-space, and | inch to rest on the 

 rebate. 



Thick Top, 



The thick top bar as now used is vastly superior to that of 

 the Allwood, its superiority being in the tongue for the attach- 

 ment of the foundation, starters being worked on the bar itself 

 instead of being an independent or a detached tongue. Not only 

 is it a great saving in labour, but the foundation has a greater 

 security, the ends being cut so that the angles, being perfectly 

 square, have the advantage of all the right-angles of the complete 

 frame being sufficiently perfect for all practical purposes. Thus 

 the frame, when in use, hangs plumb, that is if the hive itself rests 

 perfectly level. 



The Hoffman ends are self-spacing. They are always pre- 

 ferred by amateurs. One of the greatest difficulties with begin- 

 ners is correct spacing. They are generally more or less timid in 

 handling bees, and in their hurry to get away from the supposed 

 danger the quilt is placed over before all the frames have been 

 properly adjusted. I have frequently seen, after re-opening a 

 hive that has been closed without due care, the frames in all sorts 

 of angles, and no two of them collateral. Then, again, if the top 

 bars vary in width which is often the case with home-made 

 frames, the discrepancies are seldom taken into consideration. 

 Correct, parallel spacing should be a maxim indelibly fixed on the 

 minds of every bee-keeper. The absence of these precautions 

 causes more annoyance than all other careless acts put together. 

 Again, it will be noticed that both ends of the Hoffman side- 



