174 THE BEE—HIVES. 
ommend the hollowed trunk of the cork tree, than which no 
material would be more admirable if it could only be cheaply 
procured. Straw hives have been used for ages, and are 
warm in Winter and cool in Summer. The difficulty of 
making them take and retain the proper shape for improved 
bee-keeping, is an objection to their use. Hives made of 
wood are, at the present time, fast superseding all others. 
The lighter and more spongy the wood, the poorer will be its 
power of conducting heat, and the warmer the hive in 
Winter and the cooler in Summer. Cedar, bass-wood, 
poplar, tulip-tree, and especially soft pine, afford excellent 
materials for bee-hives. The Apiarist must be governed, 
in his choice of lumber, by the cheapness with which any 
suitable kind can be obtained in his own immediate vicin- 
ity. 
Scholz, a German Apiarist, recommends hives made of 
adobe—in which frames or slats may be used—as cheaply 
constructed, and admirable for Summer and Winter. Such 
structures, however, cannot be moved. But in many parts 
of our country, where both lumber and saw-mills are 
scarce, and where people are accustomed to build adobe 
houses, they might prove desirable. The material is plastic 
clay, mixed with cut straw, waste tow, etc. 
360. To make the movable-frame hives to the best 
advantage, the lumber should be cut out by a circular saw, 
driven by steam, water, or horse-power, or even by foot- 
power. We have used the foot and hand circular-saws 
made by W. F. & J. Barnes, for years, and could not do 
without them in our shops. In buildings where such saws 
are used, the frames may be made from the small 
pieces of lumber, seldom of any use, except for fuel, and 
may be packed almost solid in a box, or in a hive which 
will afterwards serve for a pattern. One frame in such a 
box, properly nailed together, will serve as a guide for the 
rest. The parts of the hive can eusily and cheaply be made 
