THE AMERICAN APTCULTURIST. 



303 



glass for observatory purposes. 

 The size of these boxes I have not 

 been able to ascertain, but four 

 3'ears later Rusden wrote a book 

 describing the same kind of boxes, 

 giving the sizes as sixteen inches 

 across and ten inches deep. The 

 bottom box was used for wintering, 

 and tiie others were placed on tlie 

 top ill summer as required, thus 

 securing the surplus on wliat we now 

 know as. the "storifying" system. 



About the year 1819, Robert 

 Kerr of Stewarton, or Stuart town, 

 Ayrshire, Scotland, a clever cab- 

 inet maker, took these octagon 

 boxes in hand and greatly im- 

 proved them. He was known as 

 "Bee-Robin." He removed the 

 crown boards and placed bars dis- 

 tanced IJ- in. from centre to centre 

 that the bees might attach their 

 combs to them. Between these bars 

 were spaces % of an inch vv^ide, into 

 which were fitted movable strips 

 called slides. They ran in grooves 

 and were capable of beingwithdrawn 

 entirely. This hive had three 

 brood boxes, each six inches deep ; 

 the super boxes were three and one- 

 half or four inches deep only ; the 

 cut (Fig. 3) gives you three brood 

 boxes and one super box and the 

 slides are partly withdrawn to show 

 the three-eighths spaces in the hon- 

 ey board ( ?). Kerr's hive was also 

 fitted with shuttered windows 

 front and back ; each brood box had 

 an entrance closed with a slide one 

 of which is shown parti}' witlidrawn. 

 This made all the brood-boxes in- 

 terchangeable, and the grooves in 

 the top of each box, from which 

 the strips were withdrawn, were 

 stopped at the ends by short plugs. 



We have no record that Kerr 

 ever practised "inverting," al- 

 though his boxes admitted of be- 

 ing interchanged. So far we have 

 had " inverting, storifying, bars, a 

 divided brood-nest, interchangea- 

 bility of brood-boxes and a honey- 

 board." 



This hive was farther improved 

 about thirty years ago b}' a Scotch- 

 man who is known among bee- 

 keepers as " a Renfrewshire bee- 

 keeper" who made two brood boxes 

 only, each nine inclies deep, and fit- 

 ted them with moval)le bar frames ; 

 the slides were still retained be- 

 tween tlie top-bars of the frames, 

 and the frames were distanced one 

 and one-half inches from centre to 

 centre. The super boxes were also 

 fitted with bar frames which were 

 distanced two inches from centre 

 to centre and were also fitted with 

 slides. These super boxes are 



Fig. 3. 



made 3, 3^ and 4 inches deep 

 whichever the beekeeper ma}' pre- 

 fer, and the bees have filled as 

 many as seven such in one season. 

 The illustration (Fig. 4), from a 

 photograph, shows a "Renfrew- 

 shire Stewarton" in full work. It 

 rests on a six-inch drain pipe sunk 

 in the ground, a long bung of 

 wood fitted into the upper end of 

 the pipe, to which the floor-board 

 is securel}' fastened. In exposed 

 places this hive has been secured 

 with guy ropes to prevent its be- 

 ing blown over. This hive is sel- 

 dom now seen out of Scotland ex- 



