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inimical to the colony. The hive should be raised from the 

 ground by means of legs, and if these are made to rest on bricks 

 and tiles they will not decay so readily. Hives should not be 

 too closely crowded. They should stand 6 feet apart, but if the 

 available space is limited they may be set a little closer. A 

 pathway at the rear of the hives is extremely useful, for then 

 manipulations can be carried out without interference with 

 those bees which are returning from the fields. 



Hives. 



The essential parts of a modern beehive are : — stand on legs, 

 moveable floor board outer case, inner brood chamber, lifts, 

 and roof , and surplus accommodation. 



Hives of many designs are now in the market, but it is most 

 important that the hives should be accurately constructed. If 

 not, the bees will either use an excessive amount of propolis, 

 or build combs in the ill-fitting spaces. Perhaps the most 

 popular hive is the " W.B.C." hive — so called after the 

 inventor, William Broughton Carr. It consists essentially of a 

 stand, with legs, a floor board, a moveable brood chamber, con- 

 taining 10 frames and a dummy frame, and outer brood case, 

 roof, lifts, and chambers for the storing of honey. The 

 advantages of this hive are : — it is easily kept clean ; its 

 capacity can be increased by the addition of more lifts; it is 

 well adapted to the production either of "extracted" or 

 " comb " honey; and with it operations such as " doubling " 

 and " uniting " can be carried out with the greatest of ease. 

 A hive of this type, however, is not suitable for bee-keepers 

 who send their bees to the heather moors in Autumn, because it 

 is more difficult to pack than a hive of simpler form, and entails 

 greater expense in transit. 



Hives with fixed' brood chambers can be purchased mere 

 cheaply. But whatever type the bee-keeper adopts, he should 

 endeavour to have all the hives made of similar size and shape, 

 so that the relative parts are interchangeable. Such uniformity 

 in' the apiary will considerably simplify his work. 



Hives should always be purchased new from manufacturers 

 6f bee appliances. It is poor economy to' buy second-hand 



