MATERIALS OF HIVES. 433 



be built for two colonies, so as to economize to the very 

 utmost, the cost of construction and labor of superlntend- 

 ance, while at the same time they occupy the least space in 

 the Apiary, and afford the largest amount of protection to 

 the bees. 



The common Dzierzon-hive is long and flat, but as the 

 combs run from side to side, instead of from front to rear, 

 the bees, unless the hive is uncommonly well protected, will 

 suffer from cold, in winter. As the German Apiarian uses 

 slats, instead of frames, it would be difRcult for him safely 

 to remove any very long combs from his hive. As a gen- 

 eral rule, the fewer the number of combs in a hive, the 

 straighter will they be built by the bees. 



The variety of opinions respecting the best materials for 

 hives, has been almost as great, as on the subject of their 

 proper size and shape. Virgil recommends the hollowed 

 trunk of the cork tree, than which, no material would be more 

 admirable, if it could only be easily and 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 insuperable objection to their use. Hives 

 made of wood, are, at the present time, fast superseding all 

 other kinds. 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 soft pine, afford excellent ma- 

 terials for bee-hives. The Apiarian must be governed, in 

 his choice of lumber, by the ease and cheapness with which 

 any suitable kind, can be obtained, in his own immediate 

 vicinity. 



A very serious disadvantage attaching to all kinds of 

 wooden hives, is the ease with wbich they conduct 

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