REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 133 
vances did not allow a close study of the habits of the bee, 
or permit the needed manipulations, it became necessary to 
invent a hive whose every comb, and every part, the Apiarist 
could promptly and easily control; a hive which, to employ 
the forcible expression of Mr. Hamet, could ‘‘ se démonter 
comme un jeu de marionettes ;’’ (be taken to pieces like a 
puppet-show). 
ReQuisires or a Compete Hive. 
280. 1. A complete hive should give the Apiarist such 
perfect control of all the combs, that they may be easily 
taken out without cutting them, or exciting the anger of the 
bees. 
2. It should permit all necessary operations to be per- 
formed without hurting or killing a single bee. 
Some hives are so constructed, that they cannot be used 
without injuring or destroying some of the bees; and the 
destruction of even a few materially increases the difficulty 
of managing them (399). 
8. It should afford suitable protection against extremes 
of heat and cold, sudden changes of temperature, and the 
injurious effects of dampness. 
The interior of a hive should be dry in Winter, and free 
in Summer from a pent and almost suffocating heat. 
4. Not one unnecessary motion should be required of a 
single bee. ; 
As the honey-harvest, in most locations, is of short con- 
tinuance, all the arrangements of the hive should facilitate, 
to the utmost, the work of the busy gatherers. Hives 
which compel them to travel with their heavy burdens 
through densely crowded combs, are very objectionable. 
Bees instead of forcing their way through thick clusters, 
must easily pass into the top surplus honey-boxes of the 
