44 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
a way that they could be opened and shut at will, 
like the leaves of a book, at the same time covering 
the outside frames by squares of glass (j*, j“), which 
represented the book-covers. 
He fixed a small comb on the under side of the top 
bar of each frame, by means of a little lath, holding 
all in position by pegs (/, p) until the bees had 
attached the comb, when the scaffolding was removed. 
In the same letter he says : ‘'This hive is, in fact, only 
a union of several of the very flat hives that can be 
e, e. Entrances ; s, s, Side Leaves ; st, st, Strings. 
separated from each other at will. I admit that one 
cannot visit the bees in a hive of this sort until they 
have themselves solidly fixed into the frames their 
combs, which would, without this precaution, tumble 
from their places, crushing and injuring the inhabi- 
tants, who would be irritated to a most disagreeable 
extent. You will call to, mind that I showed you, 
when you visited my retreat, a hive of this form 
which had been a long time in use, and that you 
