THE EVOLUTION OF THE BEE-HIVE. 197 



named the Munday. It has a full-width top bar. It has a few 

 advocates in the Hunter River district, where it first saw light. 



One of the most queerly-formed frames is Abbott's Standard. 

 The internal measurement of the top bar is 16£ in., the bottom 

 one 15 in., and each side 10 in. long. As will be seen from the 

 diagram, the angles at the top are acute, and those at the base 

 obtuse. It, like many of the others, is now obsolete, however, 

 in all my travels amongst the beekeepers of New South Wales, I 

 never saw one in use. One of the advantages claimed for it was 

 that of causing the bees to attach their comb more securely to the 

 ends. 



The British Association standard frame was brought out by 

 the British Beekeepers' Association in 1886. A Mr. Lee is said 

 to have been the inventor. The advantages claimed for it were 

 the simplicity in affixing foundation comb; antipropolising metal 

 ends; the metal ends were also self-spacing. The top bar is two 

 longitudinal pieces of equal size. The foundation was placed be- 

 tween these and secured by clamping the pieces together by means 

 of metal ends. It never came much to the fore. It is too compli- 

 cated for one thing, and too expensive for ordinary pockets, 

 especially where bee-keeping was carried on in a large way. 



The frames of the Combination Hive or the Long Idea differ 

 in nothing from the Langstroth, and will be described under 

 "Hives." 



The Langstroth, or Langstroth Simplicity, is the frame that 

 is in universal use in every part of the bee-keeping world. It is 

 17f in. by 9£ in., and has a superficial area of 167 square inches. 

 It is made in two forms; the broad, as shown, and the shallow. 

 The former is now always used in the brood chamber. Since it 

 first left its investor's hands it has undergone several slight modi- 

 fications. The top bar has been made thicker. The thick top bar 

 has several advantages. In the first place, the queen is not so 

 likely to pass over it into the supers for laying purposes, and it 

 gives additional strength to that part of the frame that has to bear 

 the greatest strain. Improvements have also been made to it for 

 the purpose of facilitating the fastening of the foundation comb ; 

 these have been eminently successful. The ends have been so 

 made that when brought close up they give correct bee-space. 

 They may be useful for amateurs, but in the hands of practical 

 men who understand the various requirements under different 

 conditions, there is no advantage gained with them. 



