MOVABLE BOTTOM BOARDS LANGSTROTH SIMPLICITY HIVE. 139 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



MOVABLE BOTTOM BOARDS FOR THE 

 LANGSTROTH SIMPLICITY HIVE. 



Like all other portions of the hive, the bottom board should be 

 made of well seasoned timber, light and free from cracks. A 

 faulty bottom board is always a nuisance and vexation to the bee- 

 keeper, and alike a fruitful source of trouble to the inmates of the 

 hive. Cracks and badly fitting joints in bottom boards, and indeed 

 in any other part of the hive, are always nurseries for the larvae 

 of the bee-moth and other enemies. If cracks, etc., cannot be 

 avoided they should be filled in with putty or some such stopping. 



For an eight-framed hive the width of a movable bottom 

 must be 14£ inches, plus the thickness of the sides of the hive ; 

 that is, if the sides are nailed to the end pieces, but if the end 

 pieces are fixed to the sides, they should not be included in the 

 measurement of the bottom board. In other words, a movable 

 bottom should be the full width of the hive, and no more. In 

 length it should be 2J inches longer than that of the bottom of 

 the hive, the extra length being used as an alighting board. The 

 wood in thickness should not be less than 1 inch stuff dressed down 

 to 7-8 inch. 



There are several patterns of bottom boards, but I have 

 selected two that are the most commonly used. If the hives have 

 been constructed the full 10 inches in depth, with a view of having 

 a J-inch space beneath the frames, and a ^-inch above, it may be 

 •constructed in either of those shown in the two following dia- 

 grams : — 



For this platform, or bottom board, a, piece of wood 1 inch 

 thick, 2 feet long, and 16 inches wide (the width of the hive) is 

 needed. It may be made of two or more pieces, but the fewer 

 joints the better. As before stated, joints give great facilties to 

 bee enemies for depositing their ova, and these chinks and cran- 

 nies are difficult places for the industrious bees to dislodge them 

 from. The entrance is cut in the solid wood in V shape, as shown 



