14 



therefore, best to buy machine-made frames rather than to 

 makes frames at home, which is almost certain to prove 

 unsatisfactory. 



The diviaion-board, usually called the "dummy" (Fig. 5), 

 is used for separating that portion of the 

 25. Division-board body-box to which the bees have access, 

 or Dummy. from the portion from which they are ex- 



cluded; it is a board 14iV inches by 8J 

 inches, strengthened by two perpendicular laths nailed to the 

 back of the board to prevent it from warping, some soft pliable 

 material being inserted between the board and the laths in such 

 a manner that it slightly projects at each side. This board is 

 rigidly attached to an upper bar of the same length and depth 

 as the upper bar of the frames, the whole being so constructed 

 that when the division-'board is suspended like a frame in the 

 body-box, it is impossible for bees to pass under it, or between 

 it and the sides of the hive. The padded slips on the sides of 

 the ' ' dummy ' ' are requisite in order that the heated air in 

 that portion of the body-box occupied by the bees may be con- 

 fined therein when the ' ' dummy " is in use. 



The quilt (Figs. 1 and 33) is a strong canvas covering, just 

 large enough to cover eleven frames and the 

 26. Quilt and ' ' dummy ' ' when all are hung in position 

 Coverings. in the body-box, so as to prevent bees 



escaping from the brood chamber. Upon 

 it are placed other warm coverings of the same shape, and pre- 

 ferably made of woollen material, the number of such coverings 

 varying at different seasons according to the temperature it is 

 desired to maintain in the brood chamber. Woollen material 

 should never be placed next the bees, as it irritates them. 



The kind of section recommended for use is that known as the 

 "D" section (Figs. 1 and 6), made in 

 27. Sections. one piece to hold one pound of honey. It 

 is supplied in the flat, and consists of a 

 piece of thin wood, jointed in three places with V-joints by 

 being partly cut through, so that it can be bent into a square 

 measuring externally 4J inches by 4^ inches by 2 inches, and 

 fastened by dovetails, which unite it at the fourth corner. To 

 fold the section into shape for use, first damp the back of the 

 three grooved V-joints, then bend the section round the " fold- 

 ing-block " provided for the purpose (Fig. 6), keeping the 

 grooves of the joints next the block, and close the section by 

 locking the dovetails. The two-inch wide section is recom- 

 mended for use in preference to narrower sizes, as when pro- 

 perly filled it will contain one pound of comb honey, which a 

 narrower section will rarely hold. 



Separators (Fig. 1) are thin sheets of wood which are inserted 



between the sections when the latter are 



28. Separators. placed in crates, to prevent the bees from 



drawing out the comb beyond the proper 



width. They are made in two sizes — the long separator is for 



