HIVES. 97 



boxes made of the same dimensions has been al- 

 ready dwelt upon, and it is of course of equal im- 

 portance with respect to straw hives. The upper 

 and lower edges should be made as smooth as 

 possible ; which effect will be greatly promoted, 

 by placing them, soon after making, between two 

 flat boards with a 561b. weight upon the upper- 

 most, and leaving them in that position for a day 

 or two. Within the upper row of straw, a small 

 hoop should be worked, for the purpose of nailing 

 a board or some wooden bars to it, and within 

 the bottom row a piece of wood should also be 

 worked over the part where the bees are to pass 

 in and out, to allow of a more easy movement of 

 the slide in the floor-board. It would be an im- 

 provement if the hoop were perforated through 

 its whole course with a wimble bit, that it might 

 be stitched with willow or bramble splits, to the 

 upper round of straw, instead of being worked in 

 with it ; and if a hoop were also stitched in a simi- 

 lar manner to the lower round of straw, the lower 

 edge of it could be planed, sufficiently smooth, to 

 lie on the middle or floor boards, as closely as a 

 box, which would render the use of mortar or 

 other luting unnecessary. The stitch holes in 

 the hoop should be filled with putty, after the 

 hive has been finished. If bars be made use of, 

 they should be of the same width, and placed at 

 the same distances from each other, as recom- 



