24 



How TO Reverse a Comb. 



A frame has two sides, so you had better look at the other one too. Your most 

 natural impulse will be to cant the frame over, but don't do, for as you tilt it up to 

 the level the weight of the comb is apt to break it away. Tr}'^ it thus: lower one hand, 

 say the right, until the top bar is perpendicular (Fig. 14) ; turn the frame half-way 

 round, using the top bar as a pivot (Fig. 15) ; then raise the hand that was lowered 

 (Fig, 16). Your frame is now upside down with the second side towards you. Here 

 is another method that can be carried out without a pause : Let the lugs of the frame 

 rest on the middle fingers of each hand, these being bent towards the chest. Turn the 

 comb end for end by swinging the left hand to the right of the right hand, then swing 

 the comb up to the position shown in Fig. 16. To get to the original position, reverse 

 the movements. 



Replacing Frames. 



When through with this frame, replace it in the hive, pushing it tight against the 

 vacant side. There is no excuse for placing it on the ground. If you have changed it 

 so that you have forgotten which is the front end, just look at the brood, for the bees 

 prefer to have their young towards the entrance of the hive, but the honey at the rear. 

 When you have examined as many frames as you want, push them over to their original 

 position by putting the hive-tool between the side of the hive and the end bar of the 

 frame and using it as a lever. Now insert the frame first taken out, pushing it into 

 place, then the follower. Many bee-keepers insert a wedge between the latter and the 

 wall of the hive, but this is not necessary, excepting when the hive is to be moved in a 

 vehicle of some kind. 



The Bottom Board, 



The foundation of the bee-home remains to be examined, and to do this we must 

 lift off the hive-body. Where shall we place it in the meantime? Certainly not on the 

 ground or any other flat surface, as there we might mash bees, A good support is a 

 shallow empty box without a cover, so we place one handy and set our hive across it. 

 Should the bottom board be glued tight to the body, insert the hive-tool between the 

 two at a rear corner, then with a slight twist force them apart. 



We now find that the bottom board — so the foundation of this bee-house is called — is 

 of the same width as the hive, but a few inches longer, the projection being in front so as 

 to form a landing-place for the bees. Cleats are nailed to the sides and end, forming a 

 resting-place for the body, at the same time securing a clear run for the bees underneath 

 the frames, thus facilitating free communication in all parts. Just how high these cleats 

 shall be depends on the judgment of the bee-keeper. At one time g inch was usual — a 

 bee-space, in fact — but in recent years the pure-air agitation has influenced bee-men, 

 and 8o we find most of them preferring cleats at least an inch high, while some have 

 gone as far as 2 inches. Here is the point : bees breathe, so they must get fre^h air, 

 and this enters only through the doorway, the foul air being expelled through the same 

 channel. A fixed shallow entrance leaves no room for extension, whereas a deep one 

 can Ih) readily contracted at any time. But the big space under the frames is a great 

 temptation to comb-building, especially during the honey-flow season. Bee-keepers 

 differ (m many details ; this is one of them ; but in the meantime the tendency is 

 towards giving plenty of room for the admission of pure air. On the surface of the 

 bottom \h)hu\ there will likely l)e lots of waste matter, such as comb-cappings, maybe 

 dead bees, and all of it should be scraped away. 



The Hive Stand. 

 Lift the bottom lM)ard and see what it rests on. Its life is dependent on the 

 absence of two enemies, water and ants ; therefore, the bearing surfaces of the supports 



