154 



THE BEE-HIVES. 



1st, It facilitates tlie tailing out of the combs, giving a 

 little more room to handle them, and thus aids in inter- 

 changing combs, -which may have slight irregularities ; when 

 such changes are necessary to help weak colonies with 

 brood or honey from stronger ones. 



2nd, It gives more room between brood-combs for the 

 bees to cluster in Winter, and a greater thickness of honey 

 above them, thereby placing the bees in better condition 

 for Winter. 



31S. The frames must be properly distanced in the hive, 

 and the combs must be built straight in them ; for a mov- 

 able-frame hive, with crooked combs, is worse than a hive 

 without any frames. 



319. The building of straight combs in the frames was 

 formerly tolerably secured by the use of a triangular 

 wooden guide fastened to the underside of the top bar of 

 the frame, and which the bees follow in most instances. 

 Something of this kind was mentioned by Delia Rocca as 

 early as 1790. (" Traite Complet sur les Abeilles.") 



Fig. 61. 



The figure 61 shows the form of a metallic stamp, 

 invented by Mr. Mehring, of Bavaria, Germany, for print- 

 ing or stamping the shape of the combs upon the under side 

 of the top bar of the frames. After the outlines were made 

 he rubbed melted wax over them, and scraped off all 

 that did not sink into the depressions. Mr. Mehring rep- 

 resented this device as enabling him to dispense with guide 

 combs, the bees appearing to be delighted to have their 

 work thus accurately sketched out for them.* In practice it 



• This invention should not be confnsed with that of comh-foTindation, made 

 A few years later by the same distingrushcd Apiarist . (677) 



