Cloth Covers and Metal Supports. 184 
Heddon in his excellent book follows the English and 
calls this a dummy. It is especially useful in autumn, 
winter and spring in contracting the hive, and thus econ- 
omizing heat, and at the harvest seasons in contracting the 
brood chamber, so as to secure the honey in the sections 
where it is desired. It is made the same form as the frames, 
but is a little larger so that it is close-fitting in the hive. It 
is easily made by nailing a top-bar of the usual frame on 
top of a board that will just fit in the hive, and reach to 
the top of the rabbet. If desired the board may be beveled 
at the edges. When the division board is inserted in the 
hive it separates the brood chamber into two parts by a 
close partition. Many bee-keepers make them like a close- 
fitting frame and cover with cloth, which is stuffed with 
chaff. Others groove the edges and insert a strip of cloth 
or rubber. The .chaff board is for greater warmth, the 
rubber to make the board fit closely, and yet give enough 
to make it easy to withdraw the division board when it 
swells from dampness. Mr. Jones prefers that the division 
board should not reach quite to the bottom of the hive 
(Fig. 62). This enables the bees to pass under, and as 
heat rises there is very little objection to this bee space 
under the division board. : 
We use the division board, to contract the chamber in 
winter fo vary it so as to keep all combs covered with bees 
in spring, to contract the brood chamber when we wish to 
secure a full force of bees in the sections, to convert our 
hives into nucleus hives, and in case we secure comb honey 
in two-story hives, which, however, we do not practice 
now, to contract the upper chamber when the season first 
opens. 
CLOTH COVERS. 
After the honey season is over, and the weather becomes 
cold, about the zoth of September, it is well to remove the 
honey board, and to cover above the bees with a piece of 
heavy factory cloth, which thus forms the immediate cover 
for the bees in winter. The section crate full of dry, fine 
sawdust has now this cloth for its bottom, while the cover 
of the hive rests on the section crate. 
