486 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



TRADE NOTES. 



THE ASPINWALL HIVE. 



By F. L. Thompson. 



One logical inference from the large and 

 small hive discussion is, that any hive which 

 can not be contracted or expanded frame by 

 frame up to the maximum, without fussing 

 with division-boards or dummies, is imperfect. 



Two sizes of the Aspinwail hive are made — 

 one holding 1 to 11 standard frames, the other 

 1 to 11 deeper (17;?<xll%) frames, or a !}{ to 

 nearly 14 L. frame capacity. I prefer the lat- 

 ter, as it fulfills the condition of perfect elastici- 

 ty, while preserving the standard length. I 

 see by the Review, however, that Mr. Aspin- 

 wail is not a supporter of large capacity per se. 

 The original reason for the expansiveness of 

 the hive seems to have been to make room for 

 the introduction, between eight brood-combs, 

 of non-swarming wooden dummy combs, half 

 an inch in thickness, with cells open at both 

 ends. These are still on trial, but promise 

 much. 



The left side (on the right in the figure) is a 

 cleated %-inch board, which, hp^irins forming 



THE ASI'INWAIX HIVE. 



one wall of the hive, also performs the func- 

 tions of a follower. Being perfectly free from 

 the hive, it is as easily handled as a frame, and 

 is suspended in the same way. This free- 

 dom is secured by making the essential and 

 fixed part of the hive body consist of a frame- 

 work, mainly of oak, bolted together. The 

 remainder of the hive, except the frames, is 

 poplar. 



The front is open. The closed-end frames 

 take up the whole space. The advantage of 

 this arrangement will be seen by the following 

 quotation from Hutchinson's Advanced Bee- 



keeping, under "Shade for Bees," "A colony 

 of bees is a living, heat-producing body, and 

 can be kept cool in the same manner that we 

 keep our bodies cool; viz., let its clothing (hive) 

 be thin, with a free circulation of air." This 

 unpainted ,9a-inch front doubtless also facili- 

 tates the insensible evaporation of n.oisture. 

 The rear of the frames also forms a%-inch 

 wall, separated by a bee-space from the back, 

 which is a i^-inch board, bolted on with iron 

 cleats. The permanent side, and the bottom- 

 board, areof X-inch lumber. A further aid to 

 coolness is afforded by a spaco left under the 

 removable side, closed by a strip when not in 

 use. This accomplishes the same result as 

 wedging up the hive, in a much easier manner. 

 It is aNo handy in hiving swarms. 



The bottom- board is fixed. If other things 

 were equal, I would choose a loose one. But I 

 prefer this hive with a fixed bottom to the next 

 best with a loose one, especially as the fixed 

 bottom has some undeniable advantages of its 

 own. This bottom is easily cleaned, the front 

 and side being open. I doubt, however, wheth- 

 er the fixed bottom may be regarded as an es- 

 sential characteristic of the Aspinv/all hive, 

 ^i unless so desired by the powers that be. 

 ^^ Simple castings, fastened by a screw 

 near each end of the top-bars, complete 

 the circuit of a bee-space elevation of 

 the top edge above the frames; secure 

 correct longitudinal spacing, and, in con- 

 nection with the closed ends, prevent the 

 bees from contact with the frame-shoul- 

 ders, which thus remain unpropolized. 

 These shoulders rest on a beveled railing 

 which forms part of the framework, 

 making an ideal method of getting at the 

 frames, without introducing the fingers 

 among crawling bees or dauby propolis. 

 This feature also removes the most seri- 

 ous objection to the use of wide top-bars, 

 which are usually hard to get hold of. 

 The frames being spaced IV.2 inches, the 

 top-bars are 134^ inches wide and ^4 inch 

 deep, which dimensions are best to avoid 

 burr-combs. 



The frames are held firmly together by 

 a blunt screw turning in the side piece of 

 the framework. Two blocks, the three di- 

 mensions of which are respectively equal to the 

 width of one. two, and three frames, make the 

 ordinary adjustment by their different positions 

 between the screw and the movable side. 



Closed-end frames, accurately made and held 

 together so as to present a smooth surface to 

 the bees, are easy to handle, and have several 

 advantages of their own, of which, perhaps, 

 the most important is that, in wintering and 

 breeding up in the spring, the heat of the clus- 

 ter is confined to the comb-spaces which it 

 occupies. 

 The Aspinwail frames have two advantages 



