58 HIVES. 



I believe that with the exception of the Movabk Comb 

 Hive, I have now noticed all the principles worthy of at- 

 tention, involved in patent hives. I will now speak of a 

 class of hives that will pay better when put in use. 



COMMON BOX HFVE. 



I will first notice a hive in the simplest form. It has 

 been called the " Quinby Hive," because it was the only 

 one recommended in the first edition of this work, but the 

 title has not always been given in a complimentary spirit. 

 I have no claims whatever to this hive, as it was made and 

 used long before my day. I recommend its use with some 

 little alteration, but it is no more a " Quinby " hive than 

 two or three others that I intend now to recommend. I 

 have studied for years to secure the greatest amount of 

 profit with the least possible expense, so that when I ob- 

 tained five or ten dollars worth of honey, I need not pay 

 it all for the hive and its appendages. I would keep a 

 few colonies for amusement and instruction alone, but 

 when I increase the number to hundreds, it is with the sole 

 intention of making money out of them. I presum.e that 

 very many of my readers are actuated by similar motives. 

 I shall again recommend the box hive as the best and most 

 economical for a large proportion of bee-keepers — those 

 who have no interest, time, or patience to study the science 

 of bee-keeping — till they can give a philosophical reason 

 why they should use a different hive. One desirable fea- 

 ture about this hive, is, that no one has to pay for the 

 right of using it. 



PROPER SIZE OP HIVE. 



After deciding upon the kind of hive, the next impor- 

 tant point is the size. Dr. Bevan, an English author, 

 recommends " eleven and three-eighths inches square, by 

 nine deep, in the clear," making only about 1200 inches, 



