REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 103 



48. It should enable the bee-keeper entirely to dispense 

 with sheds, or costly Apiaries ; as the hive itself should 

 alike defy heat or cold, rain or snow. 



49. It ought not to be liable to be blown down in high 

 winds. 



My hives may be made so low, for very windy situa- 

 tions, that it would require almost a hurricane to upset 

 them. 



50. A complete hive should have its alighting-board so 

 constructed, as to shelter the bees against wind and wet, 

 thus facilitating to the utmost their entrance with heavy 

 burdens. 



If this precaution is neglected, the colony cannot be en- 

 couraged to use, to the best advantage, the unpromising 

 days which often occur in the 'working season. 



51. A complete hive should be protected against the 

 destructive ravages of mice in Winter. 



When cold weather approaches, all my hives may have 

 their entrances contracted by the movable blocks, so that 

 a mouse cannot gain admission. 



52. It should permit the bees to pass over their combs 

 in the freest manner, both in Summer and Winter. 



While such easy intercommunication facilitates the 

 Summer work of the hive, it is often, in cold Winters, in- 

 dispensable to the life of the colony. 



53. It should permit the honey, after the gathering 

 season is over, to be concentrated where the bees will 

 most need it. 



If the latter part of the season has been unpropitious, 

 the centre combs, in which a colony usually winters, may 

 have very little honey, while the others are well supplied. 

 In hives where this cannot be remedied, it often causes 

 the loss of the bees. 



54. It should permit a generous supply of honey to be 



