102 LEAF HIVES. 



CHAPTER X. 

 LEAF HIVES. 



NARROW hives, with large glazed doors on each 

 side, have been recommended by apiarian wri- 

 ters, for exposing the operations of bees. That 

 of REAUMUR was too wide : it allowed the con- 

 struction of two parallel combs, by which of 

 course, the apiarian was precluded from making 

 any useful observations, upon the proceedings of 

 the bees, in their interspace. BONNET recom- 

 mended the use of a hive, the doors of which 

 should be only so far asunder as to allow the 

 building of one comb between them. This sugges- 

 tion was successfully adopted by HUBER ; and to 

 prevent the bees from building short transverse 

 combs, instead of a single one, parallel to the 

 sides of the hive, he laid the foundation himself, 

 by fastening a piece of empty comb to the cieling 

 of the box. 



HUBER'S glass doors had only an interspace of 

 an inch and half betwixt them : in this hive the 

 bees could not cluster upon the surfaces of the 

 comb, and yet had room to pass freely over it. 

 Mr. JOHN HUNTER recommended the diameter of 

 these narrow hives to be three inches, and the su- 

 perficies of the sides to be of sufficient size to 



