38 DADANT SYSTEM OF BEEKEEPING 



until we found it necessary to employ inexperienced men in 

 our apiary work. Many old practical beekeepers still dispense 

 with the guides. We have never liked the self-spacing frames. 

 We made a large number of them, in the early days, similar to 

 the Hoffman frames, but their projections were finally all 

 whittled off by us, to secure loose hanging frames. The only 

 advantage we can see to the Hoffman frame is the possibility 

 of handling several of them in one handful. But we never open 

 hives unless we wish to manipulate them and we then prefer 

 to handle each frame separately. 



More or less bees are crushed in the joints of self-spacing 

 frames, and where a great deal of propolis is stored by the bees 

 they sometimes stick together unsatisfactorily. 



We made the bottom boards with the grain of the wood 

 running lengthwise of the hive. We have also made them with 

 the grain crosswise. We prefer the latter way. 



The blocks, upon which the hive bottom is nailed, are use- 

 ful in keeping the hive up from the earth. When we use cement 

 stands, the blocks are not needed, as pieces "]/?, of an inch are 

 sufficient. The latter make the hive less cumbrous and lighter. 

 When colonies are taken to the low lands for fall flowers, as 

 sometimes practiced by us, the lighter bottom boards are 

 more convenient. In such cases, some sorts of blocks are used, 

 sometimes only stovewood blocks, to keep the hive bottom up 

 from the ground. 



The double back of the hive is for the purpose of protecting 

 the colony better against cold. We aim to face the hives south 

 as nearly as possible, since the north side is always the coldest. 

 The double rear wall on the north, and the division board on the 

 west, we believe to be very efficient in protecting the colony 

 against cold. 



The telescoping cover, reaching down ^ of an inch all 

 around the body, and resting on a rim, was adapted from 

 Langstroth's original ideas, as shown in figures, 9, 13, &c., 

 of his original work. The greatest advantage of this telescoping 

 cap is the ability to cover the upper edge of the brood chamber, 

 in an efficient manner. After a few seasons' use of hives, the 



