MOVABLE-FRAME HIVES. 



169 



the hive. Even a practical bee-lieeper will sometimes make 

 the mistake of putting eleven or thirteen frames, in a hive 

 that should hold twelve. With this wire, mistakes are im- 

 possible, as they will at once be detected. Besides, if the 

 hive has to be transported some distance, it keeps the 

 frames from jarring. Its cost is insigniflcant. Some Swiss 

 Apiarists use two of these, one in each end. 



348. The entrance should not be less than five-sixteenths, 

 or more than three-eighths of an inch in depth, in order to 

 give easy passage to the bees, and at the same time, keep 

 out mice. Round holes are objectionable. Each hive is 

 furnished with an entrance-block, somewhat heavy, and cut 

 as in fig 69, to reduce, or close the entrance, according to 

 the emergencies. 



349. The division board,alao called contractor or dummy, 



is an indispensable 

 feature of all good 

 hives. "With its help, 

 the hive may be ad- 

 justed to the size of 

 the weakest swarm, 

 and in Winter, the 

 space behind it can 

 be filled with warm 



and absorbing material (636). The constant use of a 

 division board, even in the strongest colonies, renders the 

 handling of combs much easier. All Apiarists know that 

 the first comb is the hardest to remove. By removing the 

 board first, the combs are at once free and can be easily 

 taken out. 



360. This board is made of the same depth as the 

 frames, with a similar top-bar. Some Apiarists use a di- 

 vision-board the full depth of the hive, but in moving it, 

 bees are crushed under it, and if any bees happen to be on 

 the outside of it, they cannot escape, and die there. On 



Kg. 7.-.. 

 DIVISION BOAKD. 



