258 UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 
of burning sulphur as a preliminary to taking their honey. All 
this is altered in the movable-comb or “frame” hives (fig. 1188). 
These are square wooden boxes, which open at the top, and 
contain a number of wooden frames for holding the combs, and 
easily taken out at pleasure for the purposes of the bee-keeper. 
They render it easy to regulate the bees, including the swarming, 
in almost any required way. The reigning queen, for example, 
can be deposed, and replaced by a more fertile successor, or one 
of more desirable race. 
The honey-extractor is a simple device for rapidly rotating 
combs so that the 
honey flies out 
by centrifugal 
force, and this is 
a vast improve- 
ment on the old 
method of crush- 
ing and straining. 
As Cowan very 
justly remarks :— 
“When we bear 
in mind that bees 
consume about 20 
pounds of honey 
C 
N 
Fig. 1188.—Cowan Hive in Longitudinal Section. a, Body-box; p, floor-board; in order to pro- 
c, strengthening piece; v, entrance gallery; E, entrance porch; +, outer case; 
G, protective plinths; H, roof of entrance gallery; 1, sliding door at entrance; duce one pound 
k, roof; L, roof-catch; m, alighting board; N, stand; 0, rack with three sections, of wax we can 
> 
realize the advan- 
below which is seen a frame of comb. 
tages of a machine which enables us to give them empty comb, 
and thus save them the labour of comb-building ”. 
To supply comb-foundation is the next best thing to giving 
empty combs. This consists of thin plates of wax, which have 
been passed between suitably-embossed rollers, so that the 
“foundations” of the cells are laid, and there are also projecting 
ridges of wax, furnishing enough material for the completion 
of the cells, save that required to cover them. Foundation is 
made with either small cells suitable for worker-brood (or storage), 
or with larger cells adapted for drone-brood. It is possible, by 
supplying one or other kind as desired, to regulate within certain 
limits the number of workers and drones produced in the hive. 
