REQUISITES OF A GOOD HIVE. lOl 



moments, any comb can be removed, and the part which is 

 too old, be cut off. The upper part of a comb, which is 

 generally used for storing honey, will last without renewal 

 for many years. 



15. It ought to furnish the greatest possible security 

 against the ravages of the Bee-Moth. 



Neither before nor after it is occupied, ought there to be 

 any cracks or crevices in the interior. All such places will 

 be filled by the bees with propolis or bee-glue ; a substance, 

 which, being always soft in the summer heat of the hive, 

 forms a most congenial place of deposit for the eggs of the 

 moth. 



16. It should furnish some place accessible to the Apia- 

 rian, where the bee-moth can be tempted to deposit her eggs, 

 and the worms, when full grown, to wind themselves in 

 their cocoons. 



17. It should enable the Apiarian, if the bee-moth ever 

 gains the upper hand of the bees, to remove the combs, and 

 expell the worms. 



18. The bottom board should be permanently attached to 

 the hive; for if this is not done, it will be inconvenient to 

 move the hive when bees are in it, and next to impossible to 

 prevent the depredations of moths and worms. 



Sooner or later, there will be crevices between the bottom 

 board and sides of the hive, through which the moths will 

 gain admission, and under which the worms, when fully 

 grown, will retreat to spin their webs, and to be changed 

 into moths, to enter in their turn, and lay their eggs. Mova- 

 ble bottom boards are a great nuisance in the Apiary, and 

 the construction of my hive, which enables me entirely to 

 dispense with them, will furnish a very great protection 

 against the bee-moth. There is no place where they can 

 get in, except at the entrance for the bees, and this may be 

 9* 



