32 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
nearly all the factories now turn out the standard size and bees in 
the market are usually discounted if in odd sized hives. 
The Langstroth frame is usually made with the top bar one 
inch in width and 7-8 of an inch in thickness, to support the weight 
of the honey laden comb without sagging. The side bars may bea 
little narrower and of 1-4 inch strips. The bottom bars are usually 
much narrower—even down to 1-4 inch square—so that the frames 
can be removed without crushing or rolling bees against the ad- 
joining combs. The top bars as now manufactured are made with a 
double slot on the lower side and each frame is provided with a 
triangular wedge so that the comb foundation can be wedged in 
securely. This simple method of fitting in foundation will be dis- 
cussed more in detail later. 
There have been various devices tried for spacing the indi- 
widual frames. One widely used style is that known as the Hoff- 
inan self-spacing end bar. The end bars are made somewhat wider 
at the top so that they project beyond the top bar, and coming in 
touch with those of the adjoining frame, form a bee space of 3-8 
of an inch, the space allowed everywhere where bees must pass. 
The objection to this frame is that the bees so propolize and build 
lurace combs over them that they are very hard to break apart, and, 
when once apart, they have to be scraped before they will fit to- 
gether again. They form bad places to crush bees when one is 
working hurriedly. Staple spacers have also been used. For the 
amateur some form of spacing is not a bad plan but soon one ac- 
quires the ability to place frames with the correct interval, and 
manipulation is much easier with no means of self spacing. 
The ends of the hives are rabbeted so that the frames will have 
support. This in most instances, is made deeper than necessary to 
admit the top bar and still give the bee space and then a tin rabbet 
is inserted to minimize the effects of propolizing by the bees. 
The hive bodies are cut to take eight, ten or twelve frames. 
Lock joints or halved joints nailed from each direction make a solid 
hive and are especially necessary if the bottom board is movable, 
as is the case with the common hives now in use. Where bees are’ 
wintered out of doors in this climate, some protection is necessary 
to retain the heat generated by the bees. This can be supplied by 
having a double-walled hive, with the space filled with chaff, straw, 
or paper, or ground cork, giving a few inches of dry absorbent ma- 
