146 AUSTRALIAN BEE LOEE AND BEE CULTURE- 



sides towards the point. If the frames have been hung perfectly 

 plumb, and it is imperative they should be, if only for ease and 

 freedom in manipulation, the wax- working bees are constantly 

 building towards the centre of the bottom bar. From the above 

 it will be seen that the increment of the comb is always making 

 addition to the fine edge of the mid-wall, and as the wax-workers 

 ■come nearer to the bottom bar, the line of their vision being inter- 

 cepted by it, they conceive it to be the floor of their home. They 

 thus finish off their comb within the bee-space of the bottom bar. 

 Now, if the bottom bar be narrow, and the narrower the better, 

 the line of vision of the constructing bees is carried over the bar 

 to the floor of the hive. The result is the incorporation of the 

 narrow bottom bar with the comb, leaving bee-space between it 

 and the floor of the hive, culminating in the comb being fixed to 

 the whole of the sides of the frame. This strengthens the comb 

 for extracting purposes, and minimises the trouble of the mani- 

 pulation thereof. In thickness the side bars should not be less 

 than i inch, whilst the top bar should be f inch to 1 inch. A 

 thin top bar containing a heavy comb of honey is always liable more 

 or less to sag. Another reason given for the thick top bar is, the 

 queen is less liable to go up in the super and convert it into a 

 brood chamber. The frame of the super, or the brood chamber, 

 may be strengthened by means of a centre bar. It is not abso- 

 lutely necessary to use a centre bar in brood frames, as in the 

 ordinary honey seasons the little surplus honey in them should 

 never be extracted. If a thick top bar be used, the shoulder 

 should be reduced to the \ inch, or the rebate in the ends of the 

 hive must be sunk deeply enough to accommodate the extra thick- 

 ness of the top bar. It will be found much easier to reduce the 

 shoulders of the frame than to form a deeper rebate in the ends 

 of the hive. 



CENTRE BAR 



(Shown in the diagram by means of a dotted line). 



The centre bar should be 3-8 inch square, and slightly longer 

 than the side bars. It should be sprung into its position. It will 

 require no other fixing. As the bees work they will inclose it in 

 the comb, and the bar will be as firm, or firmer than if it had 

 been fixed by nailing. This centre bar entirely supersedes the 

 necessity for wiring, a consideration that should not be over- 



