34 
corresponding exactly with apertures in the 
drawers above, to enable the bees to enter the 
drawers. If the body of the hive is filled, the 
drawers, if filled, are taken out, and others inserted 
in their stead ; but if it is not, one or both of the 
drawers are suffered to remain for the benefit of 
the bees, according to circumstances. The base 
or protector consists of a square frame without 
top or bottom, of the exact size of the hive, about 
four inches deep, on which the hive rests, being 
connected and held in place by dowels and hooks. 
The front and rear sides of the base are narrower 
by about an inch than the other sides, leaving 
room at the bottom for the play of the inclined 
planes, which form a bottom for the hive, consist- 
ing of two inclined planes, slanting from the top of 
the base to the bottom. These inclined planes con- 
sist of boards hung within the box of the base, on 
pivots passing through the sides near the top edge 
of the centre of the sides, and extending below the 
lower edge of the base in front and rear, with a play 
of about half an inch, to admit freely the egress and 
ingress of the bees, as well as the discharge of filth. 
The cap or top of the hive should project about 
an inch, to discharge the water without injuring 
the hive. The hive should hang in a frame by 
cleats, made fast to the sides of the hive and nail- 
ed to the chamber floor. This frame, in which the 
hive should be suspended about two feet from the 
ground, may be made of four posts four feet high, 
with suitable cleats for the hive to rest upon, and 
also to brace the posts. 
The above described hive should be made of 
good deal boards free from flaws and cracks, and 
perfectly smooth inside and outside, with the ex- 
ception of the under side of the chamber floor, 
which should be left rough, that the bees may be 
