The Svher Hive. 137 



desired, the edges (Fig. 48, c, e) can be beveled, as seen in the 

 figure. When this is inserted in the hive it entirely separates 

 the charaber into two chambers, so that an insect much smaller 

 than a bee could not pass from the one to the other. Mr. A. I. 

 Eoot makes one of cloth, chaff, etc. Yet, I think few apiarists 

 would bother with so much machinery. Mr. W. L. Porter, 

 once Secretary of the Michigan Association, makes the board 

 a little loose, and then inserts a rubber strip in a groove sawed 

 in the edges. This keeps the board snug, and makes its inser- 

 tion easy, even though heat may shrink or damp may swell 

 either the board or hive. I have not tried this, but like the 

 suggestion. Mr. D. A. Jones prefers that the division-board 

 should not reach quite to the bottom of the hive (Fig. 46). 



The us of the division board is to contract the chamber in 

 winter, to vary it so as to heep combs covered in Spring, to con- 

 vert the hive into a nucleus hive, and to contract the chamber 

 in the upper-story of a two-story hive, when first adding frames 

 to secure surplus comb honey. 



TBCB HXTBEK HIVE. 



The other type of hives originated whon Huber hinged 

 several of his leaf or unicomb hives together so that the 

 frames would open like the leaves of a book. In August, 

 1779, Huber wrote to Bonnet as follows: "I took several 

 small fir boxes, a foot square and fifteen lines wide, and joined 

 them together by hinges, so that they could be opened and 

 shut like the leaves of a book. WheF using a hive of this 

 description, we took care to fix a comb iB each frame, and 

 then introduced all the bees." (Edinburgh edition-of Huber, 

 p. 4. ) Although Morlot and others attempted to improve 

 this hive, it never gained favor with practical apiarists. 

 f In 1866, Mr. T. F. Bingham, then of New York, improved 

 upon the Huber hive, securing a patent on his triangular 

 frame hive. This, so far as I can judge, was the Huber hive 

 made practical. Mr. Bingham now uses a modification of 

 thi^ hive (Fig. 50). 



In 1868, Mr. M. S. Snow, then of New York, now of Min- 

 nesota, procured a patent on his hive, which was essentially 

 the same as the hives now known as the Quinby and Bingham 

 hives. 



