84 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



To-day in every well-regulated apiary the brood- 

 chamber is furnished with the movable hanging 

 frames for the support of the combs, which were 

 invented by Langstroth a half-century ago, or by 

 some modification of these frames. It was the 

 invention of these frames that made the science of 

 modern bee-keeping possible. A large part of the 

 manipulations of the hive is dependent upon the 

 ability to remove the combs from the hive sep- 

 arately. Two of these frames, one empty and one 

 containing a sheet of foundation, are shown in 

 Plate XII. These are of one of the newer styles, 

 known as the Hoffman self-spacing frames. In these 

 frames the upper part of the end-bars are wide, so 

 that, when the frames are in contact, there is room 

 for a bee- way between the combs; the lower part of 

 the end-bars are narrower, so that the bees can pass 

 freely around the ends of the frames. 



In the old days, and at present in some apiaries 

 where home-made frames are used, the spacing 

 between the frames has to be done by eye or rather by 

 finger; the thickness of the tip of the finger between 

 two frames being necessary to afford a bee-way. 

 But with the new frames in the market to-day this is 

 done away with, as they are arranged to space them- 

 selves, thus relieving the novice of much anxiety and 

 some embarrassment in deciding whether his finger 

 is as thick as that of the average apiarist. Also 

 in these newer frames a little staple at each end of the 

 top sets each frame exactly right in relation to the 

 ends of the hive. 



