For the American Bee Journal. 



Description of the Hives I use. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



From the numerous letters I get, 

 asking for a description of the hives I 

 use, I think I cannot please the readers 

 of the American Bee Journal better 

 than to describe it. 



In the first place I have what I call 

 an emergency hive, for use at all times 

 when I do not wish to permanently 

 locate a colony, and for queen rearing. 

 This is simply a box made of inch lum- 

 ber without bottom or top, 12 inches 

 wide, 12 inches deep and 13* inches long 

 inside, with front and rear rabbeted 

 for frames. The bottom board is 15ix 

 18 with lix2 scantling nailed to it to 

 keep from warping and to sit on the 

 ground. The top is made like a sugar 

 box cover, to slip over the hive. This 

 holds 9 Gallup frames, or any number 

 less than 9 can be used, in connection 

 with the division boards described in 

 the Journal for Feb. 



If I have a swarm come out unex- 

 pectedly I put them in this hive till I 

 decide what to do with them, and if 

 while there they build comb it is in the 



Three-box Prize Case, 



frames just where I want it and not in 

 the top of some old box, as it would be 

 if I used such for that purpose. I also 

 use such hives for rearing queens, and 

 like them much better than a nucleus 

 hive. Next I have the standard Gallup 

 hive, which is a box like the above, only 

 it is 18 inches long, instead 13* ; and has 

 a cleat nailed all around i inch from the 

 top, for the cap to rest on, which is 8 

 inches high. The bottom board is the 

 same as for the other, varying in size of 

 CQiirse to fit hive. I use, in all my hives, 

 an entrance finch high, and as long as 

 the brood chamber, cut from the bottom 

 of the front of the hive, which is en- 

 larged or contracted by means of 

 entrance blocks which are an inch 

 square, of the desired length, and are 

 beveled at one end back 1$ inches, so as 

 to guide the bees to the entrance. I 

 have always preferred this to moving 

 the hive backwards and forwards on the 

 bottom board, as many do. The 

 standard Gallup hive is made to hold 12 

 frames but I said in the Feb. Journal 

 that I reduced them to 9. This hive I 



use for box honey, and two or three 

 stories high for extracted honey. When 

 I use it for extracting, I use all 12 

 frames, seven 3 box, prize cases (see 

 cut), just cover the top, and if the 

 boxes are taken out as fast as filled, a 

 good yield of honey can be obtained 

 from this hive. 



I next come to what some feel dis- 

 posed to call the Doolittle hive, but it is 

 a combination of different principles 

 of hives and sections, with but very 

 little Doolittle about it. However, as 

 I have been successful with it, and be- 

 lieve it to be the principle on which a 

 hive should be made to secure the best 

 results in box honey, no matter what 

 style frame is used, i will give as plain 

 a description of it as I can, and you 

 may call it by what name you choose. 

 In order to make it plain I will give the 

 size and number of pieces contained in 

 a hive by No., and then tell you how to 

 put them together. 



4. 

 5. 

 6. 



7. 

 8. 



0. 



1(1. 

 11. 



I 12. 

 13. 

 14. 

 15. 



p o 'CO 



. 24 xl2 

 . 14^x12 

 . 25 x 1 



, 16^x 1 x 



, 25^x 8 x 



, 163^x 8 x 



, 27 xl8 x 



, 25 x20 x 



.25 x 3 x 



25 x 5 x 

 . lS^xll^x 



. 7 x 5 x 



12%xl0^x 



, 123^x14 x 



.14 x 3 x 



X 1 



x X 

 x 1 

 x X 



X 1 



x H 



x & 



1 



2 

 1 



h 



16 



17 

 18 

 1!) 

 20 

 21 

 22 

 23 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 

 29 

 %!30 



MJ3 



o fl 



. 17 

 . 14 



•a o 



x2Mx % 

 x lJix K 

 ll^x 4^x % 

 4%x 1 x X 

 . 9. . 13J£x 1 x U 

 . 9.. ll^x 3^x3-16 

 .18.. 10%x 1 x X 

 .15.. 123^x2 

 11^x2 

 65-16x2 

 6>£x 2 

 5 x l%x % 

 1 sheet tin 20 x 28 

 15 " "ll&x 5 

 , 2 " " 13%x23^ 



4.. 



.15.. 

 .30.. 

 .60.. 

 .60.. 



X3-16 

 X3-16 

 x X A 

 x& 



Now we will suppose you have all 

 these pieces cut to the dimensions 

 above given and wish to put them to- 

 gether. First, take number 1 which is 

 for sides to brood chamber, and cut on 

 the inside 5 inches from the ends i inch 

 slots or mortices, i inch deep, clear 

 across, for the slotted division board, 

 number 13, to slip into, when the hive 

 is nailed together. Then rabbet out the 

 upper edges between these slots £ inch 

 deep by 4 back, for the frames to hang 

 on. Then we cut the entrances I deep 

 the length of the brood chamber in 

 front board. Next nail number 11 to 

 back board between mortices, and even 

 with bottom and rabbet at top (No. 11 

 is simply to fill up the space so that the 

 comb will not be built at the ends of 

 the frames). Then nail number 12, on 

 each lower corner, even with bottom 

 mortice and end, for the lower tier of 

 cases to hang on, and the hive is ready 

 to nail together, by nailing number 2 to 

 the ends of number 1. Slip into the 

 slots or mortices, number 13, which 



