HIVES. (iO 



but some years' experience resulted in a return to a 

 brood-chamber furnished with standard frames which 

 would give a compact brood-nest. 



Distance-keepers. As the combs are built in frames 

 i inch thick, various devices are adopted to keep the 

 combs the proper distance apart. Mr. C. N. Abbott, 

 in connection with his well-known combination hive, 

 introduced the wide-shouldered frame, with which the 

 hives still sent out by Abbott Bros, are fitted. The 

 top bar is cut in such a manner that a shoulder to act 

 as a distance-keeper is left on alternate sides. 



In addition to this provision for keeping the frames 

 at the correct distance apart there is also, by reducing 

 the thickness of the bar, at each end on the underside. 



Fig. 1.5. 



what may be termed a shoulder, fitting exactly inside 

 the inner walls which stand 1^\ inches apart. There 

 is then the necessary J inch space between the ends 

 and the hive walls. These frames are all that can be 

 desired in the hands of a careful bee-keeper. PropoUs, 

 with which the bees busy themselves in cementing aU 

 cracks and crevices, becomes a nuisance when by care- 

 less fitting it finds a lodgment between the frame and 

 the shoulder of the next frame. 



The next contrivance as a distance-keeper, which 

 attracted much attention, was the metal end designed 

 by Mr. F. Lyon. Of metal ends there are now many 

 varieties, though in their main features they are very 

 similar. The end is made to slide over the end of the 



