FURNISHING AND STOCKING A BEEHIVE. 61 



same figure, this provision being made for the pur- 

 pose of ensuring that bees the queen especially 

 shall not be injured by being squeezed between the 

 hive side and the frame when the combs are being 

 withdrawn or replaced. 



As bees build their combs about an inch in thick- 

 ness, there is, nominally, a space of \ in. between 

 the faces of capped brood on two adjacent combs. 

 As the outside face of each outside comb only gets, 

 under ordinary circumstances, half of this working 

 space, two plain strips of wood (see PS, Fig. 17, 



Fig. 55. Staples used as End Spacers. 



p. 31) | in. by J in. in section are used in order to 

 increase the distance between each outer comb and 

 the hive side or the " dummy 77 (D s, same refer- 

 ence). 



A dummy is a cleated or clamped board which 

 fits the inside of the hive, and has a top bar, by 

 means of which it can be suspended in the same 

 way as a frame. Its use is to contract the brood 

 nest when it is desired to give the bees a lesser 

 number of frames than the hive provides accom- 

 modation for ; and in the hive described in Chap- 

 ter III. a pair of cleated dummies is used to make 



