THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
181 
of the hive is the side in which the entrance 
is placed. Some Beekeepers have called the 
former plan the hot system and the second the 
cold system, because the latter allows of a much 
more ready ventilation than the former way. 
If the frames are placed parallel with the sides, 
the centre of the first frame should be 4 -of an- 
incli from one side of the hive, and the distance 
of the other frames from the centre of another 
should be about lj-inches, some prefer 1 * or 
even 1 i for the brood frames. At all events 
frames for honey storage may be a little wider 
than those for brood. 
Spacers. In order to easily place the frames 
the proper distance one from another, many 
devices are adopted. Among British beekeepers 
metal ends are much used for this purpose, 
these are little castings of lead that can be 
slipped on to the ends of the top bar of the 
frames and project 5 16-of-an-inch each side, 
so that when the frames are pushed close 
together these projections keep them about 
1-of-an inch one from another or 1 J inches from 
centre to centre of frame. Some English hive 
makers adopt a shouldered frame, that is a 
frame whose top bar has a projecting shoulder 
at each end, making it 1 J inches wide, the 
extra jj-of-an inch, or shoulder at the ends, 
being on opposite sides of the top bar. Ger- 
man hive makers usually have four nails 
driven into the sides of the frames, two on the 
top bar on opposite sides, near the ends, and 
two in similar positions on the bottom bars. 
This is necessary in the form of hive used in 
Germany and many parts of the continent, 
which opens at the back, and the frames are 
slid in parallel with back and front, in grooves 
cut in the hive sides. One can not see to space 
the frames therefore, but, with the spacing nails, 
the frames are spaced properly by pushing 
them close up towards the front one after 
another, but there must be two little blocks 
or nails inside the front of the hive in positions 
corresponding to the nails on the frames, to 
keep the first frame parallel. This mode of 
spacing frames has this advantage that when 
all the frames are pushed home and secured, 
the hives will travel safely even when full of 
brood ami honey. Some beekeepers use nails 
on the top frames of Langstroth’s hives as 
Spacers, which are generally placed on opposite 
sides of the top frames, near the ends, each 
nail projecting 8 -of -un-inch. 
Experii meed beekeepers as a rule, dispense 
with all contrivances of this sort, for one very 
quickly learns to space the frames pretty cor- 
rectly by the eye or even by the feel of the 
lingers, and look upon all forms of spacers us 
useless and an encumbrance. Beginners will 
probably do better by using some form of 
spacer until be cau set his frames tridy and 
quick ly by the eye alone, or he may be 
troubled with some combs being double or 
irregular from too wide spacing, while others 
will have the cells built only on one side 
through too close spacing. After a little ex- 
perience however, it is likely he will come to 
the same conclusion about these contrivances 
as the veterans in art. Still with those who 
only keep a few stocks for amusement, a handy 
form of spacer will be found very convenient, 
for replacing frames after opening up a hive 
is done safely, accurately, and quickly, by 
simply pushing them bodily to one side of the 
hive ; and moreover he will find his combs 
built straighter and flatter by having the spac- 
ing accurate and always alike, but a Beekeeper 
with twenty hives or more will soon discard 
such contrivances. 
Dummies or Division Boards. We think no 
hive is complete without a dummy or division 
board, this is simply a board a little larger 
than the frames, and with a bar on the top 
exactly like the frame top bar, the Dummy 
then goes into the hive like a frame and forms 
a division board to separate one part of 
the hive from another. It should be made of 
such a size that it will slip into the hive easily 
and rest on the rabbett or runner like the 
frames do ; there should be .the same space 
between the bottom of the dummy and the 
bottom board as in the case of the frames ; 
around the sides however it may bo just clear 
but without room for the bees to pass round. 
Mr. Simmins, however, in his form of hives 
recommends they should be exactly the size of 
the frame which allows of bee space at the 
ends as well as at the bottoms, and he con- 
tends this is desirable for proper ventilation. 
Very good dummies can be made by nail- 
ing thin boards, say 1-inch thick on one or on 
both sides of empty frames. 
Now for the uses of the dummy. A Long* 
stroth hive will hold ten frames properly 
spaced, or nine frames and a dummy ; if there 
were ten frames full of bees it would be almost 
impossible to lift any out without crushing or 
at least squeezing and so angering the bees, 
but if there be nine frames and a dummy it 
will be easy to lift out the dummy, which 
will give room to slide the frames gently apart 
before lifting. Besides nine frames in the 
brood chamber of a Langstroth are ample, 
and many apiarians now reduce the number 
to eight. 
If there are iessthan nine frames the dummy 
is kept close up to the outside one, this keeps 
the bees more together, in a more compact 
body, which is so necessary during winter and 
in breeding time, and especially when the 
colonies are not very strong. We would 
soonei have a Stock well covering four frames 
kept close. up by a dummy, that one sparsely 
covering eight or nine frames. Keeping them 
pretty closely packed helps them in almost 
every way. When bees get a little quiet after 
tlie honey season, it is always best to remove 
all combs they do not actually cover, and keep 
them on a less number with the dummy, and 
even removing other frarneB if they dwindle 
down in numbers. The frames removed mny 
be put on the other side of the divigien board. 
