324 WINTERING BEES. 



To this I would reply ; 1st, that the bee is not a native of a 

 cold climate, and that therefore its arrangements are not 

 made with reference to such a contingency ; and 2nd, that in a 

 state of nature, the bee, in cold climates, building long combs, 

 in hollow trees, is not liable to be tfaught, as in our flat hives, 

 in brood combs in which there is little or no honey. We 

 might, to be sure, as in the Polish hive, guard them against 

 this danger, by making our hives very tall, but it could only 

 be done, by sacrificing other points of greater importance. 



I shall here describe a disadvantage to which all hives 

 with movable frames, are liable, in cold latitudes, and which, 

 if not remedied, may often prove of serious injury to the 

 bees. As the honey-bee is a native of a warm climate, it 

 does not, in making passages from one comb to another, have 

 reference to Winter, any more than it does in storing its sur- 

 plus honey. In the common hive, as the combs are attached 

 to the top and side, the bees, in order to get ready access, in 

 Summer, from one comb to another, usually leave passages 

 through the combs, instead of building them all solid. In 

 mine, however, as the frames touch neither the top, sides, 

 nor bottom of the hive, the bees have extraordinary facilities 

 for intercommunication, and very seldom leave any holes in 

 their combs. When cold weather surprises them, they are 

 therefore more liable to be caught in empty combs, than 

 colonips in hives of the usual construction. This difficulty 

 is easily obviated. Roll up a stout piece of tin into a funnel, 

 about five inches long, and one inch in diameter: let it be a 

 little flaring, with a sharp edge at its smallest opening. A 

 saw-like edge will always, if sharp, be most serviceable, in 

 any instrument used for cutting comb. With this punch, it 

 will take but a few moments to cut out a neat hole, in the 

 center of each comb, a little more than one third from the 

 top ! The movable-comb hive is then much better adapted 



