26 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



One or two bee-keepers use hives of a special size, 

 but it is unwise to suggest equipping an apiary with 

 odd-sized goods. In these times of high cost of 

 production, standardisation helps to make things a little 

 cheaper, and apiculturists will appreciate this advocacy 

 of a universal standard. The hives and plant described 

 in this book have been, and in most instances are still, 

 used in the apiaries of the writer, who is professionally 

 engaged in the production of honey and queens. That 

 the catalogues of the supply manufacturers contain 

 many goods not enumerated in this work goes without 

 saying, but the reader can rest assured that the 

 articles recommended are practically and economically 

 constructed for the work. Years of experience enable 

 one to eliminate the things that are unnecessary. 



LANGSTROTH HIVE. 



The Langstroth hive is known and used throughout 

 the apicultural world, and since it is most generally used 

 will be described first. 



The hive is made in 8, 10, and 12-frame sizes, that 

 is to say the body contains the number of frames specified. 

 Australasians generally use the first two of the above 

 sizes. The timber for the bodies, bottom-boards, and 

 covers, is % of an inch in thickness. The bodies of 

 the hive as now manufactured are lock cornered, i.e., are 

 fastened together by a species of dovetail, in a very 

 strong manner. It requires a considerable amount of 

 skill as a wood-worker to make a satisfactory hive, and 

 it is impossible to make them by hand at the prices 

 charged for the machined goods. The factory-made 

 hives when once nailed squarely together are good for a 

 lifetime. For these reasons one cannot recommend home- 

 made goods. A glance at the illustrations will explain 

 the "dovetail." 



The body is without top or bottom, just four pieces 

 of pine with the two ends rabbeted out at the top to form 

 a projection on which to suspend the frames. To allow 

 manipulation of the frames in groups from side to side, 

 the rabbets have a strip of tin nailed on. On the outside 



