216 AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



lie it stands at the head of all other bar-frames that have been 

 placed before the bee-keeping world; and therefore it is the first 

 style or pattern hive that demands our attention. The internal 

 measurement of the hive, no matter what name it bears, or of its 

 form, is of the greatest importance —exactness is the one word 

 applicable, so that the fittings or parts may be used with equal 

 facility to any and every hive in the apiary, and not only in those 

 belonging to one bee-kepeer but each piece of a hive should be 

 equally adaptable to other hives in the district. 



Langstroth hives are generally made to contain eight or ten 

 frames. The ten-frame hive is by no means suitable to all dis- 

 tricts. It should only be used in localities where there is a large 

 honey-flow. The eight-frame is handier, nd far more fitted for 

 general use, and is conceded by the most experienced bee-keepers 

 to be the easiest workable. A queen-bee must be wonderfully 

 super-excellent that can lay in more than eight frames of the 

 brood chamber ; even in these the outer combs of the two extreme 

 frames are seldom seen with brood ; and as it regards the supers, 

 there is no advantage in the larger size. Any number of these 

 can be used if the honey is coming in too quickly or time is not 

 available to extract. For brood purposes, the queen confines 



herself as much as possible to the centre of the lower chamber. 

 If, just at the beginning of the honey harvest the bottom frames 

 are filled with brood — and for profitable bee-keeping, they should 

 be — there cannot, of course, be empty cells in any number; then 

 and only then will the bees be obliged to put their store where 

 the bee-master can most conveniently get at it — that is, in the 

 super; therefore the eight-frame for brood and also eight-frame 

 supers are the ones most strongly recommended. 



Material : — Wood, light, well-seasoned, and free from cracks 

 and knot holes, the same as that advised for the frames. 



The hives generally supplied by dealers in bee goods are dove- 

 tailed. This makes extra strong corners. There are cheap ones 

 lately iput in the market, the corners being mitred and fastened 

 with nails, but the little extra cost of the dovetailed ones makes 

 them cheaper in the long run. The hives obtained from siupply 

 dealers are made by steam power. Where only a few hives ar« 

 required, or there is a difficulty in obtaining machine made ones, 

 home-made, with the corners square cut and put together with 

 nails, will do as well as the best machine constructed, for all prac- 

 tical purposes. If the hive maker is handy in the use of carpen 

 ters' tools the corners are much better halved in. It is not only 



