bse-keeper's manual. 193 



OBSERVATORY HIVE. 



Every apiarian who has leisure to study the habits 

 and economy of the bee, should have one observatory 

 hive ; that is, a hive with only a single comb, of suffi- 

 cient magnitude to afford space for the entire operations 

 of a moderate-sized family. This hive, of course, must 

 be very narrow, merely affording the necessary room to 

 build one comb, and that must be brood-comh; and 

 allow space on each side for the bees to labor, but not 

 to cluster thickly. 



The ordinary width of a brood-comb is about an inch, 

 and the bees require at least three-eighths of an inch 

 space on each side ; consequently, the distance between 

 the glass sides should be, say, one inch and three quar- 

 ters. One and five-eighths inch wide will do very well, 

 and perhaps just as well as to add the other eighth of an 

 inch ; yet I think the safest way would be, to make the 

 width as I first stated ; because, if the bees should be 

 pressed into too close quarters, it would, perhaps, affect 

 their regular labors materially. 



The area of the sides of such a hive should be, at 

 least, two feet long, and eighteen inches high ; but a 

 single comb of such large dimensions, would require a 

 support in the centre of the hive. Here is a cut show- 

 ing the form of such a hive, with cross-bars through the 

 centre both ways, as a support to the combs. 



