128 



•MANUAL OF THE AI'lART. 



way, and the alighting-board (Fig. 32, d) should be longer, 

 and changed to the side. I have tried both, and see no dif- 

 ference, so the matter may be controlled by the taste of the 

 apiarist. 



For an opening to the hive (Fig. 32, c), I would bevel the 

 middle of the edge of the bottom board, next to the inclined 

 board. At the edge, this bevel should be three-quarters of 



Fig. 32 



an inch deep and four inches wide. It may decrease in both 

 width and depth as it runs back, till at a distance of four 

 inches, it is one-half an inch wide and five thirty-seconds of 

 an inch deep. This may terminate the opening, though the 

 shoulder at the end may be beveled oiF, if desired. 



With this bottom board the bees are near the ground, and 

 with the slanting board in front, even the most tired and 

 heavily-laden will not fail to gain the hive, as they come in 

 with their load of stores. In spring, too, many bees are 

 saved, as they come in on windy days, by low hives and an 

 alighting-board. No hive should betnore than four inches 

 from the f/round, and no hive should be without the slanting 

 alighting-board. With this opening, too, the entrance can be 



