Jan. 1. 1912 



and the side ol" the hive. \"ery prob- 

 ably it will be ^hied to the fniiues 

 with |)io|)oUs, so we insert tiie hive- 

 tool lietween the frame and follow- 

 er, pushiiifx aside the bees j^ently if 

 in the way; then with easy i)ressure 

 we i)ry the board apart from the 

 frame, first at one end then at the 

 other. The follower is now removed 

 'roni the hi\e and set to one side. 

 or at the end of the hive. We can 

 iu»w reach the first frame, whicli is 

 apt to be clear of bees, excei)tinfj; 

 from May to September. As before, 

 we break the glue adhesion with the 

 hive-tool, then lift the frame witli 

 both hands, one at each end-bar. 

 Should bees be clustered where fin- 

 gers will grasp the tojj-bar, gently 

 pulT a little smoke on them and they 

 will (piickly scurry away. Remem- 

 ber, it is little tricks like these that 

 make hive manipulation easy and 

 l)revent the bees becoming ill-tem- 

 pered. Lift the frame straight up, 

 with your back to the sun, and pro- 

 ceetl to examine it. Fig. 4 shows 

 the operation. (The editor will, per- 

 haps, permit me to explain here for 

 the benefit of l^r. Miller, who may 

 in this and following illustrations 

 see a chance to catch hold of my 

 short hair, that in making these 

 photographs I had to choose be- 



Vig. 2.— Removing the cover. 



Fig. 1. — Ready to begin worlv at hive Xo. 1. 



tween good photography and 

 good bee-keeping. The former 

 called for lighting, as is shown 

 in the preceding juctures; but 

 I felt that, with the others, the 

 lighting ought to be in harmo- 

 ny with the instruction that 

 was being given. J]ven after 

 this explanation I feel the good 

 doctor will trip me up.) 



The inside of the frame, we 

 find, is filled with wax comb, 

 which is made uj) of a great 

 number of cells — at least HOOO 

 on each side. In these cells is 

 stored the food supply of the 

 colony. In them are laid the 

 eggs from which develop the 

 young bees, the whole time 

 from infancy to maturity be- 

 ing spent in such narrow con- 

 lines. Then in the cold days 

 of winter, when all actisity in 

 the hive ])ractically ceases, 

 when the individual mem- 

 bers huddle close together to 

 keep eacli other warm, each 

 empty cell may be fdled with 

 an insect, so that no space 

 shall be unoccupied. The in- 

 terior of a hive is a wonderful 

 utilization of a limited area, 

 down to the minutest detail; 

 and it is hard for most peo|)le 

 to realize that, in a ca|)acityof 

 about two cul)ic feet, as many 

 as 50,000 bees will carry on all 



