THE EVOLUTION OF THE BEE-HIVE. 201 



bars are so cut as to ensure all the angles of the complete frame 

 being correct. The bottom bar dovetails with the side bar, and 

 the thick top also dovetails into the shouldered ends. With these 

 adjuncts connected with each portion of the frame, it forms its 

 own frame-block, and if the frame, when put together, fails to 

 be true, and each frame is a counterpart of the other, the fault 

 lies in the connecting of the pieces. The plain end-bars, or those 

 that have the dovetails on one end only, are far more liable to 

 go awry than the self-S)pacing or shouldered ends. 



The original Allwood top-bar frame was made with metal 

 ends, and the bottom bars secured by means of metal angles. 

 They are still in use with a few. The object of them was two- 

 fold ; greater ease in fixing the foundation starters and to pre- 

 vent the gluing with propolis the ends to the rebates in the hive 

 by the bees. A groove in the top bar runs from end to end ; there 

 is also a corresponding short groove in each of the side bars. After 

 the frame is put together, a thin strip of wood (tongue) is fitted 

 into the groove ; secured in its position by the short grooves in 

 the end pieces to this tongue the foundation is affixed. The foun- 

 dation can be fixed more readily, and at the same time more 

 securely with a foundation fastener than with molten wax. One 

 of its weak points is the detached tongue, and the loss of time 

 in fixing it in the groove. Another drawback to it is the detached 

 metal end pieces. These can never be so fixed as to carry a frame 

 full of honey. When the frame is full, the ends always more or 

 less give way at the point of juncture. More than once I have 

 seen them do so when lifting out a frame for extracting purposes. 

 The metal corner .pieces for fixing the bottom bar to that of the 

 side have no advantage above the old-fashioned nails. The ad- 

 vantage sought to be obtained by the use of these metal ends I 

 have already referred to is antipropolising. These metal ends 

 resting on the fine edge of the metal rebate very materially mili- 

 gates the trouble, and sometimes even the difficulty of removing. 

 Where frames are permitted to remain in the rebate until the 

 bee glue becomes hardened force has to be used to detach them, 

 and they come away with a jerk, which is always annoying to 

 bees. The work of collecting propolis, and its use in any part 

 of the hive, is an unnecessary labour for the bees, and should never 

 be entailed upon them. There is no profit in it either for the 

 bees or their master, and when so engaged, they are neglecting 

 a work that is far more profitable. 



The narrow bottom bar, and the reason for its use, has been 



