COMMON STRAW (OR SINGLE) HIVES. 5d 
in high ones; that in general those which are 
broad and flat amass more honey, thrive better, 
and give out stronger and earlier swarms than 
those which are high. A hive thrives only in 
proportion to the success or perfection of its brood- 
comb in the spring. It is therefore of great im- 
portance to keep up the necessary degree of heat 
for the hatching of the brood. If, at that time, 
the bees are lodged in high and roomy hives, 
they will crowd together in vain, and the heat 
ascending is lost in the empty space above. This 
never happens in low flat hives, where it is more 
easily concentrated.”’ 
To prevent the combs from falling, sticks are 
commonly put across, or along the inside of a 
hive, as a support to them. But these props are 
an annoyance to the bees, presenting difficulty 
in subsequently extracting the combs, and are 
never required in a hive made with a proper 
regard to proportion; in other words, where the 
combs are not too large to bear their own 
weight when fully loaded. As regards the area 
of hives, much difference of opinion prevails, and 
a certain degree of latitude must be left for cir- 
cumstances connected with locality, &c. Credit has 
been taken by some apiculturists, and doubtless 
with reason, for much reducing the unwieldy hives 
of our ancestors. On an average, perhaps, a pre- 
ference may be given, as regards a common bell- 
formed straw hive, to one made fourteen or sixteen 
inches wide, and from eight to nine inches high 
at the centre of the crown, both inside measure. 
