82 lORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



several of the frames, even if there were no other occasion 

 for disarranging them. 



SELF-SPACING FRAMES. 



Then there came a time of struggling for some self- 

 spacing arrangement, closed-end, partly-closed-end, and 

 what not. I tried a good many different kinds. Closed- 

 ends were probably warmer for wintering, and were cer- 

 tainly self-spacing, but it took time to avoid killing bees, 

 and the trouble with propolis was no small matter. Half- 

 closed-ends were the same in kind, only different in 

 degree. 



Of these last the Hoffman is probably the most popu- 

 lar, and I put in use enough to fill a few hives, and most 

 of them are still in use. When new they work very 

 nicely, but as propolis accumulates the difficulty of hand- 

 ling increases, and the frames become more and more 

 crowded, until it is almost impossible to get out the 

 dummy, the easier thing being to pry out 'with a good 

 deal of force the first frame, either with or without the 

 dummy. Indeed, the difficulty of getting out the frames 

 is so great, that the sight of a set of Hoffman frames 

 when the cover is removed always produces something 

 like a shudder. 



Although I could not have anything in the line of 

 closed-ends, I wanted the advantage of the self-spacing, 

 and not finding anything on the market to suit me I 

 was, in a manner, compelled to adopt something of my 

 own "get-up," and so for several years I have used with 

 much satisfaction the Miller frame (Fig. 95). 



MILLER FRAME. 



The frame is of course of the regular Langstroth 

 size, iy%xg}i. Top-bar, bottom-bar, and end-bars are 

 uniform in width, 1% inches throughout their whole di- 



