BEES, BEE-HIVES, AND BEE CULTUUE. 47 



Mr. Woodbury sent us his hivo, we were preparing for the 



International Exhibition of 1862, and in placing it against the 



sides of the building, we followed our old plan for ingress by 



having the entrance at the end. Since that time we have made 



a considerable improvement by adapting Mr. Woodbury's cleverly 



contrived turn-table to suit our own hive. Like Mr. Woodbury's 



hive, ours has two iron wheels, the one fixed to the bottom of the 



hive, the other fixed to a stout board ruiming the full length of the 



hive ; on these two wheels the whole hive turns. In the centre 



there is an opening into the hive, with a passage-way running 



underneath, so that the bees' entrance is in no way affected by the 



position of the hive, which revolves to suit the convenience of 



visitors inspecting it. Should the queen with her attendants not be 



visible on one side, the other side of the comb can be brought into 



full view, and examined with the same facility as a picture, or as 



articles are inspected in a shop window. Thus, in the Unicomb 



Observatory Hive, the sovereign mother, her train of servitors, the 



drones with their aimless movements, and the crowd of ever busy 



workers — either building their combs or storing honey — may be 



always seen as presenting a veritable " Tableau vivant." 



Another improvement that we have made upon Mr. Woodbury's 

 pattern is that of accommodating the frames ; his was constructed 

 before frame hives were in use, consequently it is only suitable for 

 combs on bars. Our adaptation has necessitated an increase in 

 size. The dimensions are nearly 3 feet square and 7 inches deep 

 from back to front. Provision is made at top for feeding and for 

 working two small flat top glasses for deprivation, which are 

 protected by the weather board. 



An aligliting board is placed at the centre, close under the 

 entrance, when the hive is located out of doors. When the. hive 

 is placed indoors, a passage-way about 18 inches long, covered with 

 glass, is fixed to the entrance, the other end communicating with 

 an opening in the wall or sash ; through this the bees find access, 

 an alighting board being fixed outside the building. It is requisite 

 that the passage-way be about this length, in order to allow of the 

 hive turning round clear of the side of the building. 



In the summer of 1863 we had ample proof of the success of 

 this hive during its exhibition at the annual show of the Bath and 

 West of England Agricultural Society at Exeter. We selected six 



