ROBBING 
723. 
Two other reversible frames a,re the 
Danzenbaker and the Heddon (see Hivks; 
also Frames, Self-spacing, and Manipu¬ 
lation of Colonies), either one of which 
can be used as well one side up as the 
Danzenbaker reversible frame. 
other; in fact, any closed-end standing 
frame, except the Quinby, can be used as a 
reversible frame. 
The fact that none of these frames nor 
any other reversible frames are in use to 
any extent would seem to argue that the 
advantages of reversing are more theoreti¬ 
cal than actual. 
how to reverse ordinary frames so that 
COMBS WILL BE BUILT DOWN TO THE 
BOTTOM-BARS. 
The ordinary frame in general use, as be¬ 
fore stated, will have a space of from 
to y~z inch between the bottom edge of the 
comb and the bottom-bar. There is only one 
way to make the bees fill this out, and that 
is to turn the combs upside down for a 
short time. With the Hoffman frames, the 
hive-body and all containing the frames can 
lie inverted. To prevent the frames from 
sliding down on to the bottom-board when 
the whole thing is reversed, a couple of 
cleats should be placed on each end, equal in 
thickness to the bee-space on top of the 
frames and the bee-space in the bottom- 
board. An ordinary bottom, after the 
cleats are in place, should be put on top 
of the hive in place of the cover, after 
which the bottom-board, hive, frames, and 
all may be turned the other side up for a 
week’s time. The time selected for doing 
this should be just at the beginning of 
the honey flow. After the frames have 
been upside down for about a week they 
can be set back to their normal position 
with the top-bars on top as usual. 
A few beekeepers do not like to have 
these empty bee-spaces under the bottom- 
bars, for two reasons: They think this 
space is an actual waste; and, second, it 
provides an excellent hiding place for the 
queen when it is desired to find her to clip 
her, or otherwise see how she looks. 
ROBBING. —As the term signifies, “rob¬ 
bing” is an act or series of acts by which 
bees pilfer or steal from each other, or 
from any source where sweets in the form 
of jam, jellies, syrup, or honey, are left 
exposed. Like some human beings.when 
the opportunities are given, bees find it 
easier to steal than to work. The passion 
for stealing or robbing, if neglected, be¬ 
comes a habit—a habit that is exceedingly 
hard to break up. 
When bees discover that a large amount 
of sweets can be secured without working 
for it, they are quick to profit by the 
chance; and in the space of a few min¬ 
utes they may start an uproar. This not 
only means pillage, but death to the bees 
and stings to their owners. 
Paul says that the love of money is the 
root of all evil; and similarly the love of 
honey on the part of the bees is a root of a 
great deal of the evil that takes place in 
bee culture. When they find it easier to 
help themselves to the results of the honest 
toil of others they will enter into the busi¬ 
ness of plundering without scruple. 
One of the ABC class has said that he 
found a single bee making visits to over 
100 clover-heads before it obtained a load 
sufficient to carry to its hive. It is proba¬ 
bly true that during a great part of the 
season a bee will be absent a full hour, or, 
it may be, during unfavorable spells, as 
much as two hours, in obtaining a single 
load. The time during which a bee may be 
absent is very variable. If the nectar se¬ 
cretion is heavy it will return much quicker 
than if it is light. Is it at all strange that 
a bee, after having labored thus hard dur¬ 
ing the fore part of the day, should, in the 
afternoon, take a notion to see if it could 
not make a living in some easier way? 
Would it be very much worse than many 
types of humanity? As the bee noses 
around to other hives it catches the per- 
