30 BEEKEEPING 



struction. Such lumber will resist rot for 

 a much longer time than any other mate- 

 rial available. 



The bottom board consists of a series of 

 short lengths of inch material running 

 crosswise of the main hive and enclosed 

 with a binding of other inch material to 

 serve as the resting-place of the hive 

 walls. The entrance to the hive is ar- 

 ranged not through but under the hive 

 body wall so that the raised binding 

 around the bottom board is simply omit- 

 ted at one end. This provides space for 

 the bees to enter. At this entrance end, 

 too, the floor is extended forward a few 

 inches to provide a little veranda on 

 which the bees can readily alight before 

 crawling into the hive. Most bottom 

 boards are built so as to be reversible and 

 can be used either side up. "When used 

 with one side up they allow a space of 

 three-eighths of an inch high for the en- 

 trance while with the other side up this 

 space is increased to seven-eighths of an 



