MOVABLE-FRAME HIVES. 



171 



353. The straw-mat is one of the most useful and neces- 

 sary implements of the bee-hive. It is far superior to the 

 wooden-mat described by one or two writers. It is flexible 

 and porous, warm in Winter, cool in Summer. It may be 

 made of rye straw, or of what is called slough-grass, a tough 

 and coarse grass growing in marshy places, and abounding on 

 the bottoms of the Mississippi Valley. The mat shown in 

 fig. 69 is only about one inch thick. Mr. C. F. Muth man- 

 ufactures mats much thicker and stronger ; they are equal 

 to a cushion. 



In fig. 77 we present to our readers an engraving of a 

 frame, for making these mats. They are very simple 

 in construction. It is well, in making them, to use strong 

 twine, soaked in linseed-oil ; for the moisture, which escapes 

 from the bees in Winter, would soon rot the string. 



The enamel-cloth is removed before Winter (635), and 

 the mat placed immediately over the frames. A good mat 

 will last as long as the hive. 



