BEE SHEDS AND HOUSES. 151 
with great convenience ; but it should be on a ground 
floor, as bees placed at a high elevation often fly 
a long distance before they alight when swarming, or, 
perhaps, may settle on the top of a tree. <A shelf can 
be fixed along the wall, with perforated passages 
facing the hives, leading outside. Any space there 
may be between the mouth of the hive and the wall 
should be filled up by means of a suitably formed 
wooden block or covered passage, well hollowed out on 
the underneath side; admitting the bees freely 
through it into their dwelling, 
but excluding them from the — 
room itself, and thus en- 
suring safety in operating. 
Even at a common window, 
I have sometimes placed a 
stock-hive on a doubling- 
board; the latter fitting =— 
within the frame of the — 
window, which is raised, to ena = 
admit of itt being projected 
under the lower edge, so that the bees have no 
admission except to their domicile. 
Messrs. Neighbour announce that they keep, or 
make to order, bee-houses to admit of from one to 
twelve hives, and doubtless either they or any other 
hive-maker would be able to meet the wishes of 
customers in this matter to an almost unlimited 
range of choice. But the largest house ever planned 
by our makers seems far outdone by what we hear 
of in Germany, and the scale of some of the opera- 
tions in that country may be gathered from the 
