92 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
of the sides, and then suspended a new and smaller 
frame within, by two screws passing through the 
centre of its sides, so that the comb could be 
swung round after the manner of a toilet-table glass. 
Thus, between the hive side and the lower part of 
the swinging frame, Jin. intervened, of which he 
says : ‘‘There is no danger of the bees building 
combs, in even so large and handy a space, where 
such space is no higher up than shown in the illus- 
tration.^’ My experience certainly does not confirm 
Mr. Heddon’s. Bees, in my latitude, if crowded, 
would generally fill such a gap persistently. 
Before inquiring into the reasons given by Mr. 
Heddon for desiring to invert combs at all, a few 
sentences should be devoted to the history of the 
question. The German* Hanoverian Central-blatt 
of September ist, 1874, speaks thus of inversion : 
“The masterpiece of bee-keepers in Gatinais is to 
have very strong and populous hives as early as the 
honey glut takes place. When the Onobrychis sativa 
(Sainfoin) flow'ers, they turn their hives (straw skeps) 
upside down, so that the crown stands upon the 
floor-board, the open part uppermost. Upon this they 
place perforated sheet-iron (No. 35), and upon that 
a second hive, already partly built up with empty 
comb The holes of the sheet-iron allow only 
worker bees to pass ; it is, therefore, evident that 
the bees soon fill, with extra fine honey, the upper 
hive, which has already clean, new comb in it.” 
Mr. Desborough, of Stamford, adopted this method, 
with the result that the honey contained in the in- 
* See British Bee Journal, March, 1876, page 210. 
