54 HIVES. 



benefiting himself, is too much for ordinary patience. I 

 have said nothing about the expense of construction, 

 which is, at least, three times that of common box hives, 

 and it is nothing but a box hive after all. This item alone 

 is worthy our attention. 



VENTILATING HIVE. 



In cold weather, bees throw off moisture that lodges on 

 the combs and sides of the hive, and causes mold. The 

 patent-vender is at hand with several specifics for getting 

 rid of it. The most effectual that I have seen— Mr. Fur- 

 long's — is a hive with cross-bars at the top to support the 

 combs, and panes of glass set up like the roof of a house, 

 on which the moisture condenses, and runs down into a 

 little trotfgh of tin, which conducts it outside of the hive. 

 This hive is much more tolerable than the dividing hive 

 just mentioned, as this method of disposing of the moist- 

 ure is preferable to the open holes. Were it not for the 

 fact that the same result can be secured quite as effec- 

 tually at far less expense, this hive might be desirable. 

 (See description of box hive with straw mat for top in 

 chap. XXIII.) 



MOTH-PROOF HIVES. 



To keep the worms from the hive, has exercised the 

 ingenuity of our accommodating gentlemen of the patent 

 fraternity, for a long time, and they " have succeeded be- 

 yond all expectations." The noticeable feature in men of 

 this stamp is, that the less they know about bees the more 

 they presume to teach others. In fact, one who is at home 

 on the subject, does not believe a word of their profes- 

 sions. He sees well enough that a moth can go wherever 

 a bee can go, and that when the bees are gone, or too 

 weak to drive them away, the worms are present. The 

 worms can not destroy a strong colony of bees, especially 



