DADANT SYSTEM OF BEEKEEPING 11 



Fig. 8. Coffin-shaped frames tried by the senior Dadant to obtain the 

 nearest to a sphere 



These combs proved too large; they would break down readily 

 in hot weather. He also tried hives with frames in the shape 

 of a coffin, because he had noticed that bees rear their brood and 

 cluster themselves in as near a round shape as possible. The 

 coffin shaped frame was the nearest possible to a circle in a hive 

 made of lumber. The bees thrived in them. But the difficulty 

 was in placing supers on those hives. After a few years of trial 

 they were discarded also. 



After a number of similar experiments, Dadant senior 

 finally adopted a Quinby hive of 11 frame capacity, reducing 

 it to 10 or to 9 frames or even to a less number for small 

 swarms, with one or two division boards. 



