24 



l-fiitt' Ti) Rkvekse a Ooiii. 

 A frame l,as .«., »nl.s, s„ vna ha,! l.ctt.a' L.nk at the other nae to„. Your n.ost 

 natural ,u,|,ul.e «>11 he to eaut the frame o^e.•, hut ,lnu't do, h .r as you tilt it up to 

 ,he h.^el tl,e ue.^ht of the eomh ,s ai,t to hreak it away. Try it tlius : h.weroue hand, 

 sa^■the ,u.|,t,uul,l Ihe to|, har is peri.en.lua.h.r (F.g. 14); turn the frame half-way 

 rou„,l, usu.- Ilietop ha,' as a pivot (Fig. Ml; then raise the hand that was h.wered 

 (Fi.'. Kil. Your frame ,s now upside doun with the seeoud side towards you. Here 

 is another meth.Hl that ran he earried out without a pause : Let the lugs of the frame 

 re.st on the middle lingers ,,f eaeh hand, these heing hent towards the chest. Turn the 

 .-omh end h.r end hy swinging the left hand to the riglit of the right hand, then swing 

 the coird. n]i to the position shown in Fig. K). To get to the original position, reA'erse 

 the ntoxements. 



Ki.:i'i„\i'iX(i Fr.vmes. 



When through with this frame, replaee it in the hive, pushing it tight against the 

 vacant side. There is n., exi-use for placing it on the ground. If you have changed it 

 so that you ha\-e forgotten which is the front end, just look at the brood, for the bees 

 prefer to have their young towards the entrance of the hive, but tlie honey at the rear. 

 AVhen you have examined as many frames as you want, push them over to their original 

 position by putting the hive-tool between the side r)f the hi\-e and the end bar of the 

 frame and using it as a lever. Now insert the frame first taken out, pushing it into 

 place, then the follower. Many bee-keepers insert a wedge between the latter and the 

 wall of the hive, but this is not neces.sary, excepting when the hive is to be moved in a 

 A-eliicle of some kind. 



TitE BoTTO.Ai Board. 



The foundation of the Ijee-home remains to Ije examined, and to do this we must 

 lift oil' the hive-bodj'. Where shall we place it in the meantime ? Certainlj' not on the 

 ground or anj- other flat surface, as there we might mash bees. A good support is a 

 shallow empty box without a cover, so we place one handy and set our hive across it. 

 Should the bottom board be glued tight to the body, insert the hive-tool lietween the 

 two at a rear corner, then with a slight twist force them apart. 



We now find that the bottom board — so the foundation of this bee-house is called — is 

 of the same width as the hive, but a few inches longer, the projection being in front so as 

 to form a landing-place for the lieos. Cleats are nailed to the sides and end, forming a 

 resting-place for the body, at the same time securing a clear run for the bees underneath 

 the frames, thus facilitating free communication in all parts. Just how high these cleats 



shall be depends on the judgment of the bee-keeper. At one time f inch was usual a 



bee-space, in fact— imt in recent years the pure-air agitation has influenced bee-men, 

 and so we find most of them preferring cleats at least an inch hi<rh, while some ha\e 

 gone as far as 2 inches. Here is the point: bees breathe, so they must cet fre'li air, 

 and this enters only through the doorway, the foul air heing expelled throuidi the same 

 channel. A hxed shallow entrance leaves no room for extension, wdiereas a deep one 

 can lie readily contracted at any time. But the big space under the frames is a I'reat 

 temptation to comb-building, especially during the lioney-tlow season. Bee-keepers 

 differ on many details ; this is one of them ; but in the meantime the tendency is 

 towards giving plenty of room for tlie admission of pure air. On the surface of the 

 liottom board there will likely be lots of waste matter, such as comb-cappings, niaylie 

 dead bees, and all of it shoulil be scrape<l away. 



The Hive Sta.xd. 

 Lift the bottom board and see what it rests on. Its life is dependent on the 

 absence of two enemies, water and ants ; therefore, tlie bearing surfaces of the supports 



