MOVABLE-FRAME HIVES. 169 
the hive. Even a practical bee-keeper will sometimes make 
the mistake of putting eleven or thirteen frames, in a hive 
that should hold twelve. With this wire, mistakes are im- 
possible, as they will at once be detected. Besides, if the 
hive has to be transported some distance, it keeps the 
frames from jarring. Its cost is insignificant. Some Swiss 
Apiarists use two of these, one in each end. 
348. The entrance should not be less than five-sixteenths, 
or more than three-eighths of an inch in depth, in order to 
give easy passage to the bees, and at the same time, keep 
out mice. Round holes are objectionable. Each hive is 
furnished with an entrance-block, somewhat heavy, and cut 
as in fig 69, to reduce, or close the entrance, according to 
the emergencies. 
349. The division board,also called contractor or dummy, 
is an indispensable 
feature of all good 
hives. Withits help, 
the hive may be ad- 
justed to the size of 
the weakest swarm, 
and in Winter, the 
space behind it can 
‘be filled with warm 
and absorbing material (636). The constant use of a 
division board, even in the strongest colonies, renders the 
handling of combs much easier. All Apiarists know that 
the first comb is the hardest to remove. By removing the 
board first, the combs are at once free and can be easily 
taken out. 
350. This board is made of the same depth as the 
frames, with a similar top-bar. Some Apiarists use a di- 
DIVISION BOARD. 
vision-board the full depth of the hive, but in moving it, 
bees are crushed under it, and if any bees happen to be on 
the outside of it, they cannot escape, and die there. On 
