bee-keeper's manual. 325 



swarming, I melt some bees-wax, lay the plate over the 

 roof of the hive on the inside, take a brush and lay on a 

 coat of wax, precisely as the merchant marks his bales 

 and boxes through a plate for the purpose. The bees 

 being hived, follow these traces of wax, in building their 

 combs. I do not. suppose that every bee-keeper will 

 obtain such a plate, yet it is a great advantage and 

 benefit ; and it will repay its expence ten-fold. 



DISTANCES AND THICKNESS OF COMBS. 



On measuring the combs in a hive that were regularly 

 made, I found the following result, viz : jive worker- 

 combs occupied a space of five and a half inches, the 

 space between each being three-eighths of an inch, and 

 allowing for the same width on each outer side, equals 

 six and a quarter inches, as the proper diameter of a box 

 in which ^ue worker-combs could be built. According 

 to this calculation, a hive twelve inches in diameter 

 would allow of nine worker-combs being made, and have 

 a little room to spare, since eleven and three-eighths 

 inches is all the space that would be occupied. The di- 

 ameter of worker-combs averaged four-fifths of an inch ; 

 and that of drone-combs, one and one-eighth of an inch. 



The tin plate should be cut for worker-combs only ; 

 the openings four-fifths of an inch wide, and the space 

 between them, three-eighths of an inch, leaving the two 

 outside interstices five-eighths wide, in order to fill up 

 the space of twelve inches with nine combs. The extra 

 space at the sides, will allow the bees to build two or 

 three drone-combs, which is sufficient. 



