APIARIES. 



525 



this an excellent hive, as, by removing the 

 lid or top, the state of the whole can be 

 minutely examined, and any portion of 

 honey removed at pleasure, either for use 

 or for making room for the further ope- 

 rations of the bees. 



The Grecian him so closely resembles 

 the last that further description would be 

 needless. 



The Polish hive. — This primitive bee 

 habitation is formed out of the trunk of 

 a tree, usually from 12 to 14 inches in 

 diameter, and 9 or 10 feet in length. 

 The inside is hollowed or bored out so as 

 to leave a cylindrical opening of about 

 6 or 8 inches in diameter ; a portion of 

 the side of the tree, say 4 or 6 inches in 

 breadth, is removed to facilitate the hol- 

 lowing out of the space, and is afterwards 

 fitted to answer the purpose of a door. 

 It appears, by the experiments of Huber, 

 and Huish also, that bees will thrive in 

 any space if not too wide, the height or 

 length being, it appears, of no conse- 

 quence. Hence, were a tree of greater 

 diameter used, they would not prosper so 

 well in it. Very rustic and highly pic- 

 turesque hives could be made upon this 

 principle, sufficient space being given to 

 them longitudinally. 



From the above, and from other experi- 

 ments made, it seems pretty clear that 

 a great error is committed in using too 

 large hives. This is accounted for by the 

 circumstance of our climate being of 

 short duration for the purpose of honey- 

 making ; and also because the time of the 

 bees is wasted in making comb which 

 they have not time to fill with honey; 

 for, like all wise house builders, these 

 sagacious creatures complete their habi- 

 tation before they begin to furnish it with 

 honey. — Vide Bagster's Hive, Improved 

 by J. D. 



American hive. — This hive we have had 

 no opportunity of seeing. It is, however, 

 described in Milton's " Practical Bee- 

 Keeper," to which interesting work the 

 reader is referred. 



The hive of Pulteau, fig. 7 43, is thus 

 described in the " Encyclopaedia of Gar- 

 dening : " — " It is composed of three or 

 four frames, each 1 foot square by 3 

 inches in height. These square frames 

 are placed the one on the other, and the 

 first and last can always be lifted without 

 deranging the work of the others. Each 



square is strengthened from every side by a 

 cross piece of eight or ten lines in width" — 



Fig. 743. 



(it is a French invention, which accounts 

 for the dimensions being so given) — " and 

 two lines in thickness, which serve to 

 sustain the combs of the bees. All the 

 frames are tied together by means of 

 these cross pieces — a board is placed on 

 the top, and a general cover is placed 

 over the whole, to guard it from the effects 

 of the seasons. In autumn, when the 

 honey is to be taken from the hive, the 

 cross pieces are untied, and one or two of 

 the upper frames are removed, passing 

 the long blade of a knife or a wire be- 

 tween. This done, an empty frame is 

 placed above, and another under all the 

 rest, which make up for the two re- 

 moved." 



The communications of two correspon- 

 dents to the editor of "The Gardeners' 

 Chronicle," published in the same article, 

 p. 764, each describe a hive upon nearly 

 the same principle as the above. The 

 one describes his as being about a cubic 

 foot in contents outside measurement, the 

 boards being about three quarters of an 

 inch thick : " They are painted black," 

 which, by the by, is not a bad idea, " and 

 their tops have four or five holes, which 

 are stopped with corks. When the bees 

 require more room to work in, these 

 corks are taken out and another box half 

 the depth, and the same breadth and 

 length, is placed over the holes, and, if 

 necessary, a second or even a third box 

 on top of this." 



The other communication is accom- 

 panied by the annexed drawing, fig. 744, 

 which only differs from the last in the 

 boxes being all of the same size — in this re- 

 spect approaching very near to the hive of 

 Pulteau above noticed, "a represents 



