268 HIVE OF BEVILLE. 



THE HIVE IN PORTIONS OR FRAGMENTS, BY M. BEVILLE. 



This hive is described in the following manner by the 

 inventor, in his Traite de VEducation des Abeilles. 



From the manner in which my hives are constructed, says 

 Mr. Seville, I possess the power of enlarging or diminishing 

 the habitation of my bees, and it is one of those great ad- 

 vantages in the management of bees, of which Palteau was 

 the inventor. 



Palteau, however, who wrote in 1756, made his hives ex- 

 clusively of wood, with wooden coverings. I have made 

 them of wood, and according to all shapes, and generally 

 speaking, I may say, that the bees prospered in the wooden 

 hives ; but it is not every one who can bear the expense of 

 wooden hives, and especially when those made of straw are 

 equally good, if not better. 



Mons. Boisjugan wrote a treatise in 1771 on bees and 

 hives made of straw, which possesses considerable merit ; he, 

 however, divided his hive only into three portions, whereas 

 I follow the example of Palteau, and divide it into six. 



The chief art in the construction of a hive, is to proportion 

 the size of the habitation to the magnitude of the swarm ; for 

 the great inconvenience attending the common hives is the 

 incapability of augmenting or diminishing the habitation of 

 the bees. If the hive be too great, there is no resource left, 

 and the swarm is often lost on account of its habitation being 

 too spacious. The bees waste their time in making the 

 combs wherewith to fill the hive, and neglect the collecting 

 of their provisions for the winter use. 



The habitation of the bees should also be proportioned to 

 the season in which the swarms are produced. The swarms, 

 which are thrown off from the 20th of May to the 20th of 

 June, ought to have a more spacious lodging, than those 

 which are thrown off subsequently. The second swarms 



