414 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t Member a, im. 
comb lioney is in large shallow supers, and must be broken up to 
be retailed. Compare the comb honey in a Stewarton super with 
equal weight in 1 lb. or 2 lb. sections. Which is put up in the 
most inviting form ? Which is the most portable ? Which would 
be preferred by the salesman ? One must be broken up and 
weighed out piecemeal, the other is already in a neat receptacle, 
and could be carried without any waste or trouble from one end of 
England to the other. When such honey is offered to the public, 
instead of the messy bulk in bellglasses or straw supers, as of 
old, is it a wonder that “ the bar-frame fever is reaching to its 
height ?” It doubtless is, and is likely to remain at its present 
height, until all who keep bees have learnt to adopt the system. 
But sectional supers can be filled over any kind of hive—over the 
straw skep, or box hives such as the Stewarton. The superiority 
of the bar-frame hive, therefore, does not depend on its system of 
supering. It is the hive which places the bees and combs entirely 
under the control of the bee-keeper. In a few minutes the whole 
of the combs can be separately examined, and their condition and 
that of the bees correctly ascertained. What we want to know 
about the queen, the brood, or the honey stores can at once be got 
at. Whatever may be the pros in the Stewarton or skep system, 
there must remain the contra that they are both systems of fixity, 
and therefore cannot be entirely under the control of the bee¬ 
keeper. The question then remaining is, How is a cottager or 
artisan who cannot buy an expensive hive to obtain one on the 
moveable-frame system at a reasonable cost ? The answer is, 
Any man who can use a saw and hammer can make a substantial 
hive which shall be a healthy home for his bees at all seasons of 
the year. 
We make our own hives during leisure hours, and their con¬ 
struction is so simple that we are certain that others can do the 
same during the coming winter, and thus start with good* service¬ 
able hives next spring. We will, therefore, endeavour to describe 
how our hives are made. Although measurement as to the length 
Fig. 67. 
A, Floorboard. B, Frame-bar. C, Comb. D, D, Strips to act as stops. Fl,Side 
of frame. F 2, Bottom of frame. H, Bar, wedge-shaped. P, Furrowed corners. 
Q, Quilt. R, Strip for roof to rest on. s 1, Dead air space, w 1, Outer side wall. 
W 2, Inner side wall. S 2, J-inch space round frame. Z, Zinc runner. 
of the hive is immaterial, yet all the hives in one apiary should be 
in every respect alike, in order that all parts may be interchange¬ 
able. Brood boxes, frames, dummies, roofs, floorboards, and supers 
should be so made that any one may fit with another. We find 
that it is better to make the side walls of the hive hollow. The 
dead air space keeps the body of the hive warmer in winter and 
cooler in summer than single walls would do of whatever thick¬ 
ness. It will be presently seen that there is no need to make the 
front and back walls hollow, since the dummies take the place of 
the inner walls in those parts of the hive. Well-seasoned three- 
quarter-inch stuff is the best to use. If only planed on one side 
it will answer the purpose. To make the body of the hive saw off 
four pieces 9 inches wide, two of them to be 18 inches, and two 
234 inches long. Those IS inches long are to form the front and 
back of the hive, and those 234 inches long the two outer sides of 
the hive. Two other pieces 8 inches broad and 22 inches long 
form the inner side walls (W 2, fig. G7) of hive. To these two 
pieces are to be tacked two strips of zinc, say 14 inch broad and 
the same length as the inner side walls, projecting a quarter of an 
inch above these walls, thus making 8^ inches from floorboard to 
level of the zinc runners (z, fig. G7). The frame bars (B, figs. 67 
and 68) rest on these runners, and the bees are unable to propolise 
the frames to the hive. Mark off 7£ inches on either side the 
centre of the inner sides of the front and back of the hive, in order 
that the interior breadth of the hive may be just 144 inches. The 
two inner walls may now be nailed on square, placing them out¬ 
side the lines just marked off. Then nail on the outer side walls 
(w 1, fig. 67), which are to overlap the front and back of the 
hive, so as to be nailed on square against them. Fit in strips of 
wood flush with the bottom and top of the 8-inch inner side walls 
between these walls and the outer walls, so as to shut in the space 
between them, and to prevent all draught through these spaces, 
as well as to exclude spiders, moths, earwigs, &c. Half an inch 
from the top all round the outside of the hive nail on strips half 
an inch wide and three-quarters deep, to be supports for the roof. 
In the centre of the hive front cut out a piece a quarter of an 
Q 
Fig. 68. 
A, Floorboard. B, Bar. C, Comb. D, D, Dummies or dividers. F 2, Bottom 
bars. G1, Front wall. G 2, Back wall. S, Space. Q, Quilt. T, Tunnels. 
J, Feeder. R, R, Rests for roof. Zl, Strip of zinc forming roof of tunnel, 
z 2, Zinc with punctures. 
inch high and 6 inches long as an entrance for the bees. Some 
arrangement should be made by which this entrance may be ex¬ 
panded or contracted at pleasure. Two strips with slots running 
on four tacks, as fig. 69, or two strips sliding in a groove or rebate 
above, will answer the purpose ; but they should terminate with an 
inch of perforated zinc, in order that when quite closed together 
the bees may still have ventilation. At times it is useful to have 
some adjustment whereby the hive may be quite shut up— e.g. in 
case of troublesome robbing or when wishing to remove the hive 
to another position. A pent to shed the rain or shade during very 
hot weather may be made by screwing on a piece of wood or 
tacking a strip of painted zinc just above the entrance. Its width 
may be from 3 to 6 inches, and length the same as the front of 
the hive. 
The floorboard (A, figs. 67 and 68) should be made as in fig. 67. 
A frame, A, is made of three-quarter-inch batten, and tennoned or 
made to overlap as to its separate pieces at the corners, as P, fig. 67. 
It should measure when put together 194 inches by 264 inches. 
The strip forming the front of the frame should be wider than 
the others, say 5 inches ; the other three sides need not be more 
than 24 inches. This wide side should be bevelled off for 3 inches 
of its width, which part will form the alighting board for the 
bees. To this frame should be braded on both sides thin pieces 
of wood. If a stay be put across the centre of the frame quarter- 
inch deal will do very well to brad on. This will make a good 
reversible floorboard. 
The frames are made as follows. For the top bars (b in figs. 67 
and 68) strips of wood barely an inch wide, half an inch thick, 
and 18 long. Not having a circular saw to make a slot to carry 
the sheet of foundation or guide, we saw the bar through the 
centre lengthways for 15 inches of its entire length. Two pieces 
8 inches long, half an inch thick, and three-quarters of an inch 
broad, form the sides of the frame. The top bar is nailed on to 
these side pieces so as to leave a quarter of an inch space between 
them and the sides of the hive, as s 2, fig. 67. The bottom bar is 
13 inches long, and need only be a quarter of an inch thick and 
three-quarters of an inch broad, and nailed on inside the side 
pieces of the frame, as shown fig. 67. When made the frame 
should hang clear of the frame and sides of the hive by a quarter 
of an inch. The ends of the top bar may be cut tapering from an 
