170 THE BEE-HIVES. 
the other hand, this bee-passage is not objectionable, since 
heat, having a tendency to rise, does not escape through it. 
The board is made one-fourth inch shorter than the inside 
of the hive, and a strip of oil-cloth or enamel cloth, one and 
a half inches wide, is tacked on, to fill the spaces at each 
end. In this way, the board fits well against the ends, and 
is never glued so as to make it difficult to remove. A small 
half-round pine-strip, laid against the end of the board, 
while tacking on the cloth, and pulled out afterwards, helps 
to tack the cloth properly. To prevent the bees from tear- 
ing or gnawing the edge of the cloth, some Apiarists nail a 
small strip of tin over it. 
351. In the diagram (fig. 68), the reader will notice the 
strip H, used to widen the upper surface of the rabbeted 
end of the hive. This wide surface is very convenient, to 
make the cloth and straw-mat fit closely, as they can thus 
be cut a little longer. 
852. The oil-cloth or enamel-cloth, first applied to hive 
purposes by R. Bickford, is used over the brood-frames in 
Spring. It fits closely, concentrates the heat, and can be 
removed without jar or 
effort. When the sur- 
plus arrangement, or 
upper story, is put on, 
this cloth is removed 
and placed at the top. 
(759) All Apiarists, 
: PE. or nearly all, who have 
HEDDON’S SKELETON HONEY-BOARD. tried the oil-cloth and 
honey-board simultaneously, have discarded the latter for- 
ever, except in some cases of comb-honey production, when 
a skeleton honey-board (fig. 76) is used between the stories. 
The oil-cloth is sometimes gnawed, or rather pulled to 
pieces by the bees in a few years, but its cost is so small, 
and its use so great, that it is worth while to replace it as 
often as necessary. 
