154 THE BEE-HIVES. 
Ist, It facilitates the taking out of the combs, giving a 
little more room to handle them, and thus aids in inter- 
changing combs, which may have slight irregularities ; when 
such changes are necessary to help weak colonies with 
brood or honey from stronger ones. 
2nd, It gives more room between brood-combs for the 
bees to cluster in Winter, and a greater thickness of honey 
above them, thereby placing the bees in better condition 
for Winter. 
318. The frames must be properly distanced in the hive, 
and the combs must be built straight in them; for a mov- 
able-frame hive, with crooked combs, is worse than a hive 
without any frames. 
319. The building of straight combs in the frames was 
formerly tolerably secured by the use of a triangular 
wooden guide fastened to the underside of the top bar of 
the frame, and which the bees follow in most instances. 
Something of ue kind was mentioned by Della Rocca as 
early as 1790. (‘‘ Traité Complet sur les Abeilles.’’) 
ly 
Fig. 61. 
The figure 61 shows the form of a metallic stamp, 
invented by Mr. Mehring, of Bavaria, Germany, for print- 
ing or stamping the shape of the combs upon the under side 
of the top bar of the frames. After the outlines were made 
he rubbed melted wax over them, and scraped off all 
that did not sink into the depressions. Mr. Mehring rep- 
resented this device as enabling him to dispense with guide 
combs, the bees appearing to be delighted to have their 
work thus accurately sketched out for them.* In practice it 
* This invention should not be confused with that of comb-foundation, made 
8 few years later by the same distinguished Apiarist. (677) 
