CHAPTER XXVI 



NOTES ON OBSERVATORY HIVES 



WITHIN ordinary hives it is almost impossible to see what the bees 

 are doing. Of course a careful beekeeper will at times have to take 

 out his frames and examine them, after subduing his bees with 



smoke ; but in order to get any idea 

 as to how the bees work, it is 

 necessary to have some kind of 

 observatory hive indoors. This can 

 easily be made and so arranged that 

 the bees can have free access to the 

 outside without any chance of getting 

 into the room. 



A useful form of observatory hive 

 is shown in the illustration (figure 

 188). It consists of a wooden frame- 

 work about two feet six inches high, 

 one foot long, and three inches broad, 

 with glass sides. At the bottom there 

 is a slit -like exit for the bees, and at- 

 tached is a piece of glass tubing which 

 acts as a gangway to the outside. 

 One side is hinged so as to open freely. The top of the frame 

 consists of perforated zinc for ventilation and feeding. 



FIGURE 185. An Observatory Hive. 



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