188 



Mr. J. G. Desborougli's Observations 



gradually sinking into a state of repose. I now digress to de- 

 scribe the hive. 



The ground plan of the observatory hive is here represented. 



It will be seen to consist of an outer case, the sides vvhereof are 

 all moveable. 'J he shaded parts are stuffed with blankets to pre- 

 serve the natural heat of the bees; the vvliite space is the part oc- 

 cupied by the bees, and the black dot in the centre is a hollow 

 pivot on which the whole hive turns, and up which the bees enter 

 the hive: the hive stands on a square board, with a long passage 

 therein, communicating with the pivot, and joining a hole in the 

 sill of the window at which the hive stands. The darker marks 

 in the plan are grooves in the wooden top and bottom of the hive, 

 in which plates of glass run, forming the sides of the hive; the 

 ends of the hive, shown by thick black marks, are of wood, and 

 form the support of the top of the hive, taking the weight off the 

 glass sides; they are dovetailed loosely both top and bottom, and 

 secured by a screw ; the hive turns freely on its pivot, so that 

 each division can be brought directly opposite the eye of the 

 Apiarian, and this turning of the hive does not in any way inter- 

 fere with the entry or exit of the bees. Guide combs were placed 

 in the hive, so as to induce the bees to build the combs straight; 

 in three divisions they did so, but in the fourth division the comb 

 was not securely fastened, and on its breaking down the bees 

 built combs across, in the direction shown by the above plan. I 

 might probably have remedied this, and have induced the bees 

 to build the comb parallel to the glass, but my idea was, that 

 these combs would form a warmer and more natural situation for 

 the bees to winter in than the other divisions, where each side of 



