HIVES — MOVABLE FRAMES. 



41 



Fig. 22— Ancient Greek 

 movable comb hive, 

 (After La Maison rus- 

 tique, published in 1742.) 



honey, will verj^ materially affect the net profit of an apiary. This 

 being the case, the original cost of a hive, whether a dollar or two more 

 or less, is of small importance compared with the desirability of secjur- 

 ing convenience and simplicity in its management and of promoting 

 the welfare of the bees in winter and summer. Frame hives managed 

 with intelligence and skill are essential to the greatest success. Inac- 

 curately made frame hives, neglected, as is too 



frequently the case, so that the combs are built 

 irregularly between or across the frames, are not 

 one whit better than box hives. Even an accu- 

 rately built frame hive, if no attention is given to 

 the spacing of the frames when combs are being 

 built, will soon present no advantages over a box 

 hive of the same dimensions and having the same 

 space for sui)ering above the brood apartment. 



The frame and hive most in use in this country 

 is the invention of Eev. L. L. Langstroth, and this 

 hive, with slight modifications, has been generally 

 adopted in England and her colonies. It is also becoming known and 



appreciated on the continent of Europe. The patent on the frame 



the essential feature— expired many years ago, so that anyone who may 

 wish to do so is now free to employ the invention. It is still used by 

 many in the same form in which it was brought out in 18o2. Others 

 have changed the dimensions of the frames and given them different 



names, while retaining the 

 special feature of the inven- 

 tor's principle, namely, the 

 loose-fitting frame suspend- 

 ed by the projecting ends 

 of its toj) bar on a contin- 

 uous rabbet. The outside 

 dimensions of the Lan 

 stroth frame most in 

 are 17 g inches long b}' 9 J 

 inches deep (tig. 24). Mr. 

 M. Quinby, one of the most 

 practical and successful 

 beemasters of our century, 

 preferred frames li* inches 

 deep by 18 inches long, and 

 and these are still used by 

 many large honey raisers. Other sizes are also used somewhat. 



The bars composing frames are usually made seven-eighths inch wide, 

 although some prefer to have the top bar 1 inch or even Ij^ inches wide, 

 and the bottom bar is made by some as narrow as five-eighths inch or 

 even three-eighths inch square. The narrower bottiun bai\ at h'ast 

 down to a width of five-eighths inch, renders the removal of the frames 



use 



cap 



Fig. 23.— Dadant-Quinby form of Langstroth hive, with 

 and gable roof. (Redrawn from Langstroth on the Honey 

 Bee.) 



