88 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
endeavour to show that for convenience of mani- 
pulation it is even in a more marked degree 
superior to the Berlepsch hive. When compar- 
ing hives, one of the chief considerations is, 
which gives the best facilities for manipulation. 
Given two hives equal in all other respects, 
the one that will allow of getting most rapidly 
and easily to any part of it will be by far the 
most valuable of the two. Another very im- 
portant feature is, that each andevery movable 
part shall be soarrangedthatthcy can be moved 
with care and without jarring the hive. Let us 
now see which of the two under consideration 
is the best in these respects. Supposing we 
have a Langstroth hive with a super on, well 
stocked with bees, and we wish to examine 
the frames in the centre of the super ; with a 
simplicity comb holder with us to hook on 
the side of the hive, we lift off the cover and 
mat, and after blowing a few puffs of smoke 
down between the frames, we move two a little 
to make room to take one out altogether, — 
hanging it on the comb holder, — which gives 
ample room for taking out any one we wish. 
If we require to take some of them away, the 
bees can be shaken or brushed off right into 
the hive, and other frames substituted at once. 
To do all this, only one frame has to be 
removed from the hive to make room, and 
the whole operation can be performed in a 
minute or two. To get at the brood chamber, 
we certainly have to remove the super, but 
this can be done in a few seconds, and if placed 
on a bottom board alongside, and the cover put 
on, scarcely a bee will leave it. We then 
have the whole of the frames in view, as in the 
former case, and can get at anyone in the 
same manner. How is it with the Berlepsch 
hive ? After opening the back and removing 
the glass division, if any of the frames beyond 
the first are wanted, all the intervening ones 
must be removed and be kept out of the hive 
till we get them, so that whenever the farthest 
one is required, all have to be removed — a fea- 
ture so objectionable as at once to place the 
hive far below the Langstroth in value. Then, 
with regard to the arrangements for suspending 
the frames. All know how prone the bees are 
to propolise every joint and crevice after 
the honey season, and how secure they can 
fasten the ends of the frames to the rabbets 
where no tin supports are used. We also 
know that they (especially Italians) “ bridge ” 
the combs, and the deeper the frame the 
more bridges or connections will be made, so 
that on first opening hives in spring there is 
always more or less trouble in clearing away 
the propolis, and cutting away the bridges of 
wax before we have the frames ready for 
manipulating. Now, in the Langstroth, we 
make special provision to prevent the ends 
of the frames being fastened, by putting tin 
supports above the rabbets, that they may rest 
on a knife edge of tin which effectually 
prevents propolising. Then, again, by having 
the whole top surface of the frames clear, we 
can easily remove all obstructions of this kind, 
should there be an}', and run a knife down 
between any two frames to cut away the 
bridges without jarring the hive in any way. 
Not so with the Berlepsch hive, for with the 
projecting ends of the frames running in 
grooves, there is every facility given to the bees 
to fasten them as securely as a joiner fastens the 
joints of a piece of cabinet work with glue, in 
fact, no better device could have been invented 
for the purpose. How 1 is it possible to remove 
the propolis and cut the bridges of wax P 
It must be remembered that there is a per- 
manent horizontal partition only a quarter 
af an inch above the frames, and the ends of 
the latter are but a quarter of an inch from the 
sides of the hive. I must confess that I cannot 
sec any way out of the difficulty, except by 
getting hold of the spacing nails, or the bottoms 
of the frames, and tugging at them; running 
the risk of breaking both frames and combs. 
Then imagine what a difficult task it must be 
to get to the innermost frames, where one has 
to cramp one’s arms to get them nearly up to 
the elbows in a box but 9J- inches wide ; 
the bees on the sides of the box would have 
rather a hard time of it. and also the operator 
with various bees. At all events, it is difficult 
to conceive how a person can make satisfactory 
headway in manipulating such hives. When 
brushing the bees off a frame, they must of 
necessity fall outside the hive, so that there is 
a great risk of losing young bees or even the 
queen ; and unless much time is spent getting 
the bees into the hive again before closing the 
back, a lot will be left crawling and lingering 
about. 
Mr. Abram tries to make out that queens 
can be found more readily in his hives. 1 hold 
he is wrong, and on his own showing. He 
knows as well as I can tell him, that a queen, 
if she moves at all while we are looking for her, 
will always run from the light. Now, the first 
frame in the Berlepsch hive intercepts nearly 
all the light entering it, consequently the queen 
will run further into the hive as each frame is 
removed for inspection ; whereas in the Lang - 
stroth, with the cover ar.d mat removed, the 
light plays equally into all parts, leaving no 
dark corners for the queen to run to, so that I 
consider his argument utterly fails on this 
point. Mr. Abram also tries to make a point 
of the glass division or back, telling us that, by 
looking through it at the first frames, you can 
judge what some of the others are like, as 
regards honey. I think this is sheer nonsense; 
what can be seen ? Why, one side of one comb. 
As well may he tell us that, by looking through 
