MOVABLE—FRAME HIVES. 171 
Fig. 77. 
FRAME TO MAKE STRAW MATS. 
353. The straw-mat is one of the most useful and neces- 
sary 1mplements of the bee-hive. It is far superior to the 
wooden-mat described by one or two writers. It is flexible 
and porous, warm in Winter, cool in Summer. It may be 
made of rye straw, or of what is called slough-grass, a tough 
and coarse grass growing in marshy places, and abounding on 
the bottoms of the Mississippi Valley. The mat shown in 
fig. 69 is only about one inch thick. Mr. C. F. Muth man- 
ufactures mats much thicker and stronger; they are equal 
to a cushion. 
In fig. 77 we present to our readers an engraving of a 
frame, for making these mats. They are very simple 
in construction. It is well, in making them, to use strong 
twine, soaked in linseed-oil; for the moisture, which escapes 
from the bees in Winter, would soon rot the string. 
The enamel-cloth is removed before Winter (635), and 
the mat placed immediately over the frames. A good mat 
will last as long as the hive. 
