INTRODUCTION : BAR-FRAME BEEHIVE. n 



sions are stocked by all bee-appliance dealers, there 

 is some advantage gained by sticking closely to 

 standard measurements. But a thickness of only 

 | in. for the top bar makes a frame weak and likely, 

 when the comb is filled with honey and brood, to 

 sag considerably, and when surplus receptacles are 

 placed over sagging frames a void is left which the 

 bees are not slow to take advantage of to fill with 

 either brace comb or propolis, both very undesir- 

 able substances in the position named. Some 

 apiarists have adopted a top bar \ in. thick, the 

 extra J in. of thickness adding considerably to its 

 stability ; but the plan has this disadvantage, that 

 the frames are not strictly standard, although 

 standard outside measurements are adhered to. 



A " bee- space " is, approximately, -f^ in., that is 

 to say, a bee can pass between two boards spaced 

 ^V in. apart. If a space is less than this, the bees 

 will fill it with propolis or bee-glue, a sticky resin- 

 ous substance exuded by and gathered from the 

 buds of trees; if more than f in., the space will 

 have comb built in it. It is customary, therefore, 

 to allow a free bee-space of J in. round the ends 

 of the frames, and a space of | in. below them. It 

 will be evident from this that any hive must be 

 at least 14^ in. long and 8j in. deep, and provision 

 must be made for the overhanging top bar. 



As bees build their combs about li in. from 

 centre to centre, it follows that the width of the 

 hive will depend upon how many frames it is de- 

 cided the hive shall accommodate, and this point 

 is determined by the style of hive adopted. 



Hives may be roughly divided into two distinct 

 classes long (or " combination ") and tiering. 

 The former is associated with the name of Charles 

 Nash Abbot, who may be considered the father of 

 British bee keeping, and is a hive warmly ad- 

 vocated by some. In it the frames hang parallel 

 with the entrance, ,the number provided for being 

 generally fifteen. In the tiering hive, the style 



