FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



85 



iill with comb in such a place. As propolis accumulates, how- 

 ever, this space will become less. 



The dummy should be light and at the same time quite 

 substantial, and the one I use fulfills these requirements (rig. 

 42). The principal board of the dummy is leVg x 8% x 5-16, 

 of pine. The other parts are of some tougher wood. The top- 

 bar is 18% x 5-16 X 5-16. Each end-cleat is 8% x 1/2 x 5-16. 



It wiU be seen that the dummy is neither so long nor deep 

 as a frame. That makes it easier to handle, and being at the 

 side of the hive it never makes any trouble. If I were making 



Fig. 29—Tool-hasket. 



new dummies, I think I would make the principal board 15 

 inches long instead of 16%. It would be easier to handle, and 

 bees are little inclined to fill in comb at the ends of the dummy. 

 While the cut-off top-bars in the frames work nicely, they do 

 not work so well in dummies, as I found upon trying a number 

 of them. The principal objection to this dummy is that the 

 top-bar, being only 5-16 square, is sometimes broken off, or 

 pulled off, when the dummy is pried out of a hive where it is 

 glued in. Some of them are made over in a simple way that is 

 very satisfactory. The top-bar is entirely torn off, and for a 



