WE will commence our list of hives with this, the very simplest form of adaptation to the depriving system. The upper hive is intended for a super and the lower one is the "stock" for the bees' settled habitation. The directions for applying this, as well as for stocking the hive and taking the honey, will however be obtained under the head "Neighbours' Improved Cottage Hive" (page 116), and in the sections referred to there on "Hiving Swarms," "Applying Supers," etc. The hive is well suited for those who are desirous of leading their poorer neighbours into the humane system of bee-keeping. See the remark at the end of the next section respecting the hole for giving admittance to the super.
This hive (so styled from its obtaining a prize at the Crystal Palace Show in 1875) differs from the foregoing in being larger, and in having a thicker floor-board, a hooped fitting at the base, a window in the super, and a movable cap as a finish to either super or stock hive, according as the former is in use or not. The outside dimensions of the lower hive are seventeen inches diameter by nine in depth, and of the super thirteen inches by five.
When there is a hole in the centre on top of the stock hive, as is the case here, there is a possibility of the queen ascending and depositing eggs in the super. To check such a mishap, a queen and drone preventer can be applied, which is a contrivance so arranged as to admit the passage of nothing larger than a worker (Chap. IV. § xvii.).
This is our more complete form of a cottager's hive, composed entirely of straw. A very prevalent opinion exists that bees do better in hives of that material than of any other. Another opinion prevails, that the old-fashioned straw hive is the least expensive, the most simple, and the most productive. Although we cannot go so far as this, we are willing to admit that a simplified adaptation of the humane system to the old common straw hive is the most suitable to put into the hands of that large class of bee-keepers—cottagers. By these the more fanciful hives will be instantly condemned; besides, the expense puts them quite beyond the reach of the poorer class. The object aimed at in planning this structure has been to furnish a depriving hive that should be at once easy of management, inexpensive, and convenient. The stock hive, in which the bees are first deposited, is round, and has a flat top with a hole in the centre. The size of this lower hive is nine inches deep outside, and fifteen inches across the bottom; it is finished with a wooden hoop, which adds very much to its firmness and durability. The floor-board is one inch and a quarter thick, with a way sunk therein for the entrance. A small round mat of straw closes the hole in the top; this mat may be fixed by wooden pegs. We have now described what is termed the stock hive, which is, in fact, an old-fashioned straw hive, adapted, modernised, and improved to the more humane, viz., the depriving system. The weight of the stock hive, with its floor-board, is about seven pounds.
The super is five inches deep outside and twelve or so in diameter, and, when filled, contains about twelve pounds of honey and comb. Its purpose is exactly identical with that of the three bell glasses described on page 117: the lower hive is for the breeding compartment and for the storage of honey for the bees' own consumption, while the upper is to receive the surplus of their treasure which the owner intends to appropriate pure for himself. A glass window, which is placed at the side of the super, is useful for inspecting the progress made in filling it. An adapting-board to facilitate removal is added underneath it by some.
A common straw hive, sufficiently deep to cover, drops over the super, keeping the window dark, and fitting close on to the stock hive. This cover hive may be made fast by driving in two skewers, one on each side, to keep the whole firm. Unless placed in a bee-house or under a shed, the outside should be painted; or a piece of oilcloth, or water-proof covering of any kind, shaped so as to shoot off the rain, will save the trouble of paint, and answer the purpose (see Chap. IV. § iii.).
The mode of stocking this hive, and of taking the honey, will be clearly gathered from the directions under § v. below, and from the general instructions in the sections therein referred to. After two or three weeks the straw mat may be removed to give the bees access to the super.
This hive is very superior to the one described just above, as it possesses a Taylor's glass in lieu of a straw super, and an adapting-board and a window in the lower portion. Its principle is also exactly the same as that of the succeeding, which is simply a more elaborate development of this hive. Our illustration places the window over the entrance, being so drawn in order to exhibit back and front at one view, whereas in reality it is on the opposite side at the back, so as to allow of an inspection free from the liability of annoyance from the bees. For directions see the next section.
Our improved cottage hive (shown page 113), is neatly made of straw bound with cane, and therefore very durable.[20] The lower hive is covered with a wooden top, having in it three holes, through which the bees convey their honey into three middle-sized bell glasses with ventilators, which, when filled, hold about six pounds each. There is a hoop at the bottom, another round the top of the lower hive; to this the wooden crown-board is fastened. These hoops are a great improvement, and are less liable to harbour insects than if straw alone were used. The floor-board, as its name implies, is a wooden board one inch and a quarter thick, with a projection of three or four inches under the entrance to form an alighting-place. This entrance is cut out of, or sunk in, the board. There are three windows in the lower hive, each closed with a shutter; these are very useful and interesting for inspecting the progress made. Across the centre window is a thermometer, enclosed at the sides by slips of glass. The window shutters, being of oak colour, add very much to the appearance. The upper hive, which is merely a cover for the glasses, is made like the lower; a hoop is worked into the straw, and is sufficiently large to allow the cover to drop over the crown-board, keeping the whole close, and preventing wet from drifting in. A zinc ventilator, ornamentally painted, forms the apex; this is useful in letting the confined hot air pass away in warm weather. The ventilator is opened by raising it. The lower or stock hive is fifteen inches in diameter and nine and a half in depth outside; its weight, when empty, is seven pounds and a half. The cover, or top hive, is twelve inches deep and fifteen inches in diameter; the ornamental zinc top being four inches deep. The whole is about twenty-four inches high. The weight of a hive packed, including glasses, is about eighteen pounds.
[20] This is the hive referred to by the "Bee-Master" of the Times (Dr. Gumming) when he says: "The second kind of hive I alluded to is made of straw, and may be purchased at Neighbours', in Holborn.... It is so well made that it will last very long. I have had one in constant use during ten years, and it is still as good as when it was bought."
These hives have a tasteful appearance in the garden, but they require some further protection from the weather in the form of a cover or of a bee-house—contrivances that have yet to be described. In extreme cold weather a little additional protection, by having matting folded round them, will be advisable.
One of the advantages of this and the preceding hives over the ordinary cottage hive is that they afford ready opportunity for the humane management of bees. The bell glasses also give the owner the power of taking honeycomb of pure quality, free from the extraneous matter known as "bee-bread," instead of combs that are darkened by having brood hatched in them. By this system we have combs newly made and used only for depositing the honey first put into them: hence the name "virgin honey." These glasses have a very pretty appearance, and, when nicely filled, are very convenient for home use or for making presents. The lower hive is the receptacle for the bees; when a swarm is placed in this hive they immediately proceed to fill it with combs for the storage of honey for their own use, and for cells to breed in. This hive remains undisturbed.
The best mode of tenanting a hive of this description is by placing an early and strong swarm in it, which may be generally procured of a neighbouring bee-keeper; if from a distance, considerable care is necessary to admit plenty of air (Chap. V. § xi.). For the purpose of ventilation, remove the slides and substitute perforated zinc, wrapping the hive up in a coarse cloth of open texture (dispensing with the floor-board during transit when the distance is great and the temperature warm). It is necessary only to send the lower or stock hive to the party furnishing the swarm, taking the precaution to fix the slides at top with tacks, as the hive has to be inverted to receive the bees. Some older bee-keepers prefer to give it a little dressing with syrup, beer, or herbs; there can be no objection to the first, but other scents may not be pleasant to the insects and are far better avoided, as also are the sticks so often inserted, they being almost certain to cause crooked combs. The bees, if swarming, are shaken into the hive, as described in Chap. V. § i.; if transferred from another hive, the directions will be found in a following section of the same chapter. Towards evening close the entrance, and remove them to the exact position they are intended permanently to occupy. Success depends on this, and also on their careful removal on the evening of hiving. The following morning they will labour in their new location, marking well their habitation before they take flight, and not failing to return to it loaded with luscious store.
The general directions must be observed in applying the supers (Chap. V. § xiii.). When the time arrives the thermometer will rise rapidly to 100 degrees or upwards. To prevent swarming the zinc slides on the wooden top must now be withdrawn, and the bell glasses put on, covered and protected by the upper hive; a day or two after which all signs of swarming will at once disappear, the bees now having increased storage-room, which they will readily fill with comb. The ventilator should always remain open during the day, to allow the hot air to pass away from the interior, thereby contributing to the whiteness and beauty of the work; the bees enjoy the refreshment of coolness thereby afforded, and they work the faster for it. At evening all ventilation should be stopped, and the glasses wrapped round with some warm material. We now supply flannel-lined baize bags to each glass sent out with the hive.
The directions for taking honey are much the same as usual (Chap. V. § xiv.). A slide seven inches and a half square is furnished with the hive, and is useful to remove the glass upon. The holes in the wooden top of this hive are of a peaked shape, to act as a preventive against slaughtering any bees whilst pushing the slide in for the purpose of removing the glass when full. The tacks before alluded to should be removed from the slides when the hive is fixed in its place. The entrance slide is very serviceable during the winter months to lessen the passage-way, thereby preventing the admission of too much cold air; it is also occasionally useful on a summer evening to lessen the entrance when moths are troublesome, for if there be only a small opening the bees can guard it and easily repulse intruders. During the time of gathering they require the whole width to remain open.
The pedestal, shown on the right in the next figure, as originally sent out, has a hole through each of its feet, and must be firmly fixed in the ground by means of the four iron pegs supplied with it for the purpose; to prevent rotting, it is well also to place a brick under each foot. The hive must then be made fast to the stand as a precaution against high winds. The latter is about twenty-two inches in height.
The simplicity and easy management of this hive have rendered it an especial favourite, combining as it does real utility with many conveniences to satisfy the curious. Not a few bee-keepers desire to unite the two qualifications, and no hives combine these advantages in a greater degree than the one we are now describing.
A cheaper form of this hive is here represented, of precisely the same size and construction, with the exception that it has no windows or thermometer. The apiarian with this hive will therefore have to trust more to his own judgment as regards the likelihood of swarming, and must watch the appearance the bees present at the entrance. When it is time to put on supers in order to prevent swarming, premonition will be given by the unusual numbers crowding about the entrance, as well as by the heat of the weather, making it evident that more room is required for the increasing population. At Michaelmas the directions as to weighing must be attended to (see Chap. V. § xviii.).
The following illustration shows the construction of this hive. The stock hive is of stout glass, and cylindrical, with a flat top and a hole in the centre; it is thirteen inches in inside diameter and eight inches and a half deep. A support, composed of even wooden bars fixed on a pedestal from the floor-board, is very useful for the bees to cling to and secure their combs, instead of resting wholly against the glass.
The floor-board is of mahogany, the border being French-polished. A middle-sized bell glass, for deprivation, is placed over the hole; this hole may be closed by a zinc slide. A cover of straw, eighteen inches deep and fifteen inches wide, with a zinc ventilating top similar to that affixed to the cottage hive, completes the arrangements. The weight of the stock hive and board is about sixteen pounds. In the figure the cover is shown lifted to display the interior. In a thoroughly warm room it may be kept entirely off.
This hive is well adapted for those persons who are desirous of having the opportunity of making a closer examination of the workmanship of these industrious and interesting insects, as the whole of the interior may be exposed to view; it is particularly suitable for a window or an indoor apiary, and will also be found a valuable addition to the greenhouse. Under these circumstances the entrance-way should be covered with a flat piece of glass, and an aperture cut in the sash corresponding with the entrance to the hive; through the glazed passage the bees may then find egress and ingress without being able to gain access to the apartment. An alighting-board, four inches wide, must be fixed outside on a level with the entrance.
We had a hive of this kind in operation at the Great Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862, fixed after the manner above described. It answered admirably, and excited much interest and curiosity, though placed there under many disadvantages.
When a hive of this kind is to be stocked, proceed in the main as with ordinary transfers (Chap. V. § ii.), but place the floor-board and support of the hive in the middle of the sheet or swarming-board, and precipitate the bees as much as possible on to the support; cover them with the glass, propping it up with bricks or other rests sufficiently high to prevent the bees being squeezed. They will collect under the bars and on the pedestal, and in about one hour's time the whole will have settled quietly, and all the stragglers on the board will have collected together, the swarm hanging pear-shaped from the bar support; the bricks can now be removed, and the glass put in its right place on the floor-board. The straw cover can now be set down over all, and the hive can be removed to the place it is destined permanently to occupy.
The light should not be admitted for some days after hiving; if undisturbed, the bees will speedily build comb, working from the wooden bars, which are placed there for their assistance and support. In ten days or a fortnight, if the weather continue fine and warm, they will prepare to swarm again; the opening at the top must now be unstopped, and the bell glass put on, guide-comb having been previously fixed. The directions given as to these matters for the preceding hive apply equally to this one.
It is advisable in winter to furnish the glass stock hive with more protection from cold than is afforded by the straw cover alone; some thick baize, or wrapper of wadding, for which there is space between the glass hive and the cover, will prevent so much moisture condensing on the sides of the glass. As remarked under "Winter Precautions" (Chap. V. § xx.), it is only by the very greatest care that bees can be brought through that season in a glass hive.
The hole at top is used for supplying food, should the apiarian fear the stock of honey is in danger of running short; either feeder may be used for the purpose (Chap. IV. § XX.).
The late Mr. Nutt, author of "Humanity to Honey Bees," may be regarded as a pioneer of modern apiarians; and though his hive is now comparatively little used it is still worthy of description from the part it has played in the history of bee-keeping.
It consists of three boxes placed side by side (C, A, C), with an octagonal box (B) on the top, which covers a bell glass. Each of the three boxes is nine inches high, the same wide, and eleven inches from back to front. Thin wooden partitions, in which six or seven openings corresponding with each other are made, divide these compartments, so that free access from one box to the other is afforded to the bees; this communication is stopped, when necessary, by a zinc slide passing down between. The octagonal cover b is about ten inches in diameter and twenty high, including the sloping octagonal roof, surmounted with an acorn as a finish. There are two large windows in each of the end boxes and one in the centre box. Across the latter is a thermometer, scaled and marked, so as to be an easy guide to the bee-master, showing him, by the rise in temperature, the increased accommodation required; this thermometer is a fixture, the indicating part being protected by two pieces of glass, to prevent the bees from coming between it and the window, and thereby obstructing the view.
D D are ventilators. In the centre of each of the end boxes is a double zinc tube, reaching down a little below the middle: the outer tube is a casing of plain zinc, with holes, about a quarter of an inch wide, dispersed over it; the inside one is of perforated zinc, with openings so small as to prevent the escape of the bees; a flange or rim keeps the tubes suspended through a hole made to receive it. The object in having double tubing is to allow the inner one to be drawn up, and the perforations to be opened by pricking out the wax, or rather the propolis, with which bees close all openings in their hives. These tubes admit of a thermometer, enclosed in a cylindrical glass, being occasionally inserted during the gathering season; it requires to be left in the tube for about a quarter of an hour, and on its withdrawal, if found indicating ninety degrees or more, ventilation must be adopted to lower the temperature. "The grand object," as Mr. Nutt expresses it, "is to keep the end boxes and the bell glass cooler than the pavilion or middle box, so as to induce the queen to propagate her species there and there only, and not in the depriving part of the hive; by this means the side and upper combs are in no way discoloured by brood. The queen requires a considerable degree of warmth; the middle box does not require more ventilation than the additional openings afford. The bees enjoy coolness in the side boxes, and thereby the whiteness and purity of the luscious store are increased." The ornamental zinc top D must be left raised, and is easily kept in that position by putting the perforated part a little on one side.
The boxes before described are placed on a raised double floor-board, extending the whole length—viz., about thirty-six inches. The floor-board projects a few inches in front. In the centre is the entrance (as our illustration only shows the back of the hive we must imagine it on the other side); it is made by cutting a sunken way, of about half an inch deep and three inches wide, in the floor-board, communicating only with the middle box; it is through this entrance alone that the bees find their way into the hive, access to the end boxes and the super being obtained from the inside. An alighting-board is fitted close under the entrance, for the bees to settle upon when returning laden with honey. This alighting-board is removable for the convenience of packing. The centre, or stock box, A, called by Mr. Nutt the Pavilion of Nature, is the receptacle for the swarm, E E are two block fronts, which open with a hinge. A semicircular hole, three inches long and two wide in the middle, is cut in the upper floor-board immediately under the window of each box; these apertures are closed by separate perforated zinc slides. The blocks, when opened, afford a ready means of reducing the temperature of the side boxes, and they are also useful for allowing the bees to throw out any refuse.
The centre F is a drawer, in which is a feeding-trough, so constructed that the bees can descend through the openings just mentioned on to a false bottom of perforated zinc. Liquid food is easily poured in by pulling out the drawer a little way; the bees readily come down on to the perforated zinc, and take the food by inserting their probosces through the perforations, with no danger of being drowned. Care must be exercised that the food is not given in such quantity as to come above the holes; by this means each hive has a supply of food accessible only to the inmates, with no possibility, when closely shut in, of attracting robber bees from other hives.
The exterior of these hives is well painted with two coats of lead colour, covered with two coats of green, and varnished: Notwithstanding this preservation it is absolutely essential to place such a hive under a shed or cover of some sort, as the action of the sun and rain is likely to decay the wood, whilst the extreme summer heat might cause the combs to fall from their foundations. Neat and tasteful sheds may be erected, consisting either of zinc or thatched roofs supported by iron or wooden rods, and they will form a pretty addition to the flower-garden. It will be well to make the covering a foot or two longer, so as to allow of a cottage hive on each side, as the appearance of the whole is much improved by such an arrangement.
The super will be almost sure to be filled first, having been first opened to the bees. This will be removed according to the general instructions. The removal of the end boxes is a somewhat similar process, but they should on no account be taken away at the same time as the glass, or, indeed, at a time when any other hive is being—robbed we were going to say, for it is robbery to the bees: they intended the honey for their winter food, and are much enraged at being deprived of it. First shut down the dividing tin; the bees in the end box are now prisoners separated from the hive; keep them so half an hour, and then take away the box bodily to another part of the garden, or into a dark outhouse.
To Francis Huber—not improperly styled "the prince of apiarians"—we are indebted for more extensive and accurate observations on the habits of the bee than have been contributed by all other observers since the time of Aristotle. We have here introduced a description of Huber's leaf hive (and should be glad to exhibit one) for the sake of its historic interest in connection with apiarian science. Though entirely gone out of use it was invaluable for Huber himself, and it suggested to other apiarians the adoption of the present plan of vertical bars and frames.
In connection with this last point of interest it seems fitting to introduce here some very brief account of the development of the movable-frame hive. From "time immemorial" there have existed bar hives—indeed, they have been traced to the ribbed carcase of Samson's lion. But in most cases the bars were not movable ones—they were simply designed to aid the purpose of keeping an upper story in some degree clear of the queen's inter-meddling. And even when they were capable of removal they added but a slight step in advance, and the credit of the inventions of Golding in England and Dzierzon in Germany is due not to the bars themselves but to their mode of affixing, and especially to the guide-comb attached beneath. At about the same date with these there appeared a Russian hive known as the Propokovitsch, which consisted in an arrangement of several stories of frames inserted endways and resting on cross pieces below them. Thus one invention supplied bars without frames, while the other offered frames without bars. But the right idea had now been caught, and it is not surprising that several apiarians, independently and simultaneously, were engaged at this period in working it out.
Briefly summarised the sequel is as follows. In 1841 our own countryman Major Munn obtained a patent in France for his movable bar-and-frame hive, of which he published a description in England in 1844;[21] in America in 1851 Mr. Langstroth completed the invention of his movable bar-frames; and in Germany in 1853 Baron von Berlepsch by a distinct inventive process added the frames to Dzierzon's bars. Thus England appears after all to possess the honour of the contrivance, although we certainly proved the last to make of it any general or extensive use. Major Munn's original hive opened at the back, and when in 1851 he reappeared in print with a hive opening at the top, he had altered the frames (and hive too) from oblong to triangular. Probably one reason of the invention's failure was the expensiveness of the Major's fittings, which are such as to make the hive appear in his engravings more like some astronomical instrument than a box for bees and honey. Be this as it may, there was practically no such thing as a frame hive in use in England till 1860, when Mr. Tegetmeier was the means of reintroducing it—whether from Germany or America we are not quite sure. The German hives, however, open at the end, while Mr. Langstroth's are like our own; so that, whoever was the inventor of bar-frame hives, the hive of English apiarians comes nearer to this gentleman's than to that of any one else. Mr. Woodbury it was who afterwards brought out the frame hive which met with the first general acceptance in this country.
[21] "A Description of the Bar-and-Frame Hive invented by W. A. Munn, Esq.:" London, Van Voorst, 1844; 2nd ed. 1851. In his edition of Bevan's "Honey Bee," brought out in 1870, the Major tells us that he had been for some years engaged in connection with this distinguished author (and we presume Mr. Golding) in, the preparation of the above hive.
Having made allusion to the construction of the German hives it may be acceptable to some if we append a few additional particulars. According to Von Berlepsch, the depth should be about sixteen inches, the length twenty-eight, and the breadth only nine, so that the receptacle is high and narrow, and reaches a long way back. The frames, which fit crossways, are consequently much like our own turned up on end, or perhaps more frequently two frames are used, one as a story above the other. With the most approved hive (the "Lagerbeute") instead of supers the further end of the long box is partitioned off and goes by the name of the "honey-room." Then, as the only practical opening is at this end, not only must this "room" be cleared away equally with our supers before the brood frames can be got at, but none of these can be reached without taking out all the others that are in front of them. When supers are used the frames can be extracted without interfering with these, so that some advantage might then result from such arrangement; but generally speaking this operation of removal is a rare necessity while the supers are on. In some cases extraction at the top may be the more convenient, and in others at the end; and we have therefore in our Philadelphia hive (§ xii.) endeavoured to unite the two advantages by supplying an opening both at the side and the top.
To return, however, to the subject of our present section. During the early period of Huber's investigations he prosecuted them by means of single-comb hives, which allow of each side of the comb being examined. He found, however, that there was one important defect. The bees could not in these hives cluster together, which is their natural method of withstanding the effects of a reduced temperature. Huber hit upon the ingenious expedient of combining a number of single-comb frames, so as to form one complete hive, which could be opened, in order to expose any particular comb, without disturbing the rest. From the manner of the opening and closing of this hive it has generally been called the "Leaf or Book Hive." The division separating each comb is joined both back and front with "butt hinges," fastened with a movable pin, on withdrawing which, at both sides, each comb and the bees on it may be inspected as easily as if in a single-comb hive. Huber's leaf hive is thus in appearance as if several ordinary "History of England" chess-boards were set up on end together; but each single portion is distinct, instead of there being any coupling of twos. The floor-board on which the hive stands is larger than the hive when closed, so as to allow of its being opened freely at any particular "volume." An entrance-way for the bees is hollowed out of the floor-board as in other hives. There is a glass window in each end of the hive, which is provided with a shutter.
There is, however, one serious objection to Huber's hive, which, though not noticed by him or his careful assistant, has prevented its general use—that is, the difficulty there is in closing it without crushing some of the bees—a catastrophe which, by exasperating their comrades, is certain to interfere with any experiments. There is no such risk in the bar-and-frame hive, whilst in it every facility possessed by Huber's is retained.
The character of Huber and the circumstances under which he pursued his observations are so remarkable that we need scarcely apologise for stating a few particulars respecting him here. He was born at Geneva, in July 1750, his family being in honourable station and noted for talent. Just as he attained to manhood he lost his sight, and remained blind to the end of his days. This apparently insuperable obstacle in the way of scientific observation was overcome by the remarkable fidelity with which Burnens, his assistant, watched the bees and reported their movements to Huber. Madame Huber also, who, betrothed to him before his calamity, had remained constant in her affection, assisted in the investigations with great assiduity during their long and happy wedded life. Huber, fortunately for science, was in a position to devote both means and leisure to these observations; and Burnens, though only a peasant, was a superior man, and rose by his worth to become chief magistrate of his native village. In later years Huber's son Pierre rendered important aid. We quote the following from "Memoirs of Huber" by Professor de Candolle:—
"We have seen the blind shine as poets, and distinguish themselves as philosophers, musicians, and calculators; but it was reserved for Huber to give a lustre to his class in the sciences of observation, and on objects so minute that the most clear-sighted observer can scarcely perceive them. The reading of the works of Réaumur and Bonnet, and the conversation of the latter, directed his curiosity to the history of bees. His habitual residence in the country inspired him with the desire, first of verifying some facts, then of filling some blanks in their history; but this kind of observation required not only the use of such an instrument as the optician must furnish, but an intelligent assistant, who alone could adjust it to its use. He had then a servant named Francis Burnens, remarkable for his sagacity and for the devotion he bore his master. Huber practised him in the art of observation, directed him to his researches by questions adroitly combined, and, aided by the recollections of his youth and by the testimonies of his wife and friends, he rectified the assertions of his assistant, and became enabled to form in his own mind a true and perfect image of the manifest facts. 'I am much more certain,' said he, smiling, to a scientific friend, 'of what I state than you are, for you publish what your own eyes only have seen, while I take the mean among many witnesses.' This is doubtless very plausible reasoning, but very few persons will by it be rendered distrustful of their own eyesight."
The results of Huber's observations were published in 1792, in the form of letters to Bonnet, under the title of "Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles." This work made a strong impression upon many naturalists, not only because of the novelty of the facts stated and the excellent inductive reasoning employed, but also on account of the rigorous accuracy of the observations recorded, when it was considered with what an extraordinary difficulty the author had to struggle.
Huber retained the clear faculties of his observant mind until his death, which took place on the 22nd of December, 1831. Most of the facts relating to the impregnation of the queen, the formation of cells, and the whole economy of the bee community, as discovered and described by Huber, have received full confirmation from the investigations of succeeding naturalists.
I. Wood.—The late Mr. Woodbury's "Bar-and-Frame Hive," as originally made, consists of a wooden box, fourteen inches and a half square inside, and nine inches deep. The actual habitable space inside is lessened by the room occupied by the frames, of which there are ten; these rest on a rabbet a little below the surface, leaving a space of three-eighths of an inch between the upper side of the bars and the crown-board. This allows a free passage on the top for the bees, entirely obviating the necessity of making excavations in the crown-board, as has hitherto been recommended. The frames are nearly an inch wide, and rest in notches, with spaces of half an inch between them; they extend to within three-eighths of an inch of the floor-board, so as to hang without touching any part, leaving about the same distance from the sides. It will be seen that there is thus a free passage for the bees on every side, so that they are kept from coming in contact with the sides of the hive. Our illustration shows the hive open, and exposes to view the top of the ten bars and frames, as they range front and back. A window is also shown; this is placed in the figure over the entrance, but the proper position would be just opposite. The drawing is made so as to show back and front at once.
As before mentioned, the stock hive has ten frames—each thirteen inches long by seven and a quarter high (inside measurement), with a five-eighths of an inch projecting piece at each upper end, which rests in the notches at back and front. We have placed this hive first in our list of modern frame hives in accordance with the part it has played in rendering them popular in this country as explained in the preceding section.
2. Straw.—Subsequently to the introduction of the above wood hive Mr. Woodbury recommended that the stock hive should be made of straw, of exactly the same dimensions; this material being warmer in winter, cooler in summer, more equable in temperature at all times, slightly ventilating, and allowing of absorption. Bees, during, cold weather, cluster together to generate the requisite degree of heat; the temperature of the interior of the hive being thus so much higher than the external atmosphere, a good deal of moisture condenses at the top and on the sides of the hive. The straw, as before stated, prevents this dampness hanging about within, and tends to keep the inmates more healthy.
The square straw hives, and a machine for making them, exhibited in the Austrian department of the International Exhibition of 1862, suggested the idea of employing that material for English frame hives. We have had a machine made resembling the one exhibited, and suited to the size in use by us, by which our hive-maker is able to manufacture neat square hives in straw. These have a wood frame at top, an inch deep, with the requisite notches to allow the ten comb-frames to hang. A similar frame forms the base, the straw being worked between. An inch projection is left on all sides of the floor-board beyond the exterior of the hive, from which it is slightly chamfered down. An entrance, four inches wide, is cut out of the substance of the board, beginning at the edge, and continuing on the same level until inside the hive, where it slopes upwards. This entrance is about three-eighths of an inch high where the hive crosses it.
These straw hives have been generally made without windows, as Mr. Woodbury and other scientific apiarians have so preferred them. They have considered glass windows unsuitable for winter, because then moisture condenses on the glass. There is no doubt that the having a peephole or two in a hive adds very agreeably to its value for amateur bee-keepers, and, to meet the wishes of such, we have had straw hives constructed with windows. It is not every one who would like to lift out the frames as often as is necessary for an inspection of the state of the colony, nor perhaps is it advisable to be often thus meddling. The windows have also a very neat appearance. We have hives with one, and some with two and three windows; of course a little extra expense is incurred where these are made, but that is not objected to by those who approve of the additional convenience. The crown-board (if a straw top can be called by that name) has, like the hive, a frame of wood all round, and a square piece of wood in the centre, with a two-inch hole; this hole is for the purpose of administering food, in a mode to be explained hereafter. A circular block of wood, four inches in diameter, closes the opening.
3. Glass.—Some bee-keepers like to be able to make a full and daily inspection of the hive; we have therefore prepared a few hives, constructed of wooden frames enclosed on all sides and on the top with window-glass. The dimensions are precisely the same as those before mentioned, and allow the same number of bars and frames (ten). The crown has a round hole cut in the glass to admit of feeding. The four sides are constructed of double glass, to preserve the bees from variations of temperature. We cannot, however, recommend this hive for a winter residence for the bees; we should prefer lifting the combs out and placing them in a straw hive of similar construction, to pass through the ordeal of the winter season (Chap. V. § xx.). Such a hive is an object of much interest, as in it the whole commonwealth of bees is exposed to view; and it need not be obscured from daylight, provided it be protected from sun and rain. All the external woodwork can be stained, varnished, or made of polished mahogany; so that the appearance of the glass frame hive is extremely neat, and much approved of.
I. Wood.—Since the former editions of this work were published, several alterations and improvements have been made. We find, in the first place, that a deeper hive than the Woodbury is desirable for the better concentration of heat, and also to admit of more honey being stored above the brood, so that the food shall be easier of access to the bees in winter. Our new frame hive measures accordingly twenty-one inches from front to back, sixteen inches in width, and twelve in height, thus allowing the sides to be constructed of the original breadth of the planks, viz., eleven inches (the other inch being made up by the thickness of the floor-board). The frames, of which there are nine, are ten inches deep and thirteen wide; they rest on strips of zinc, which prevent the bees from propolising them down so firmly, and, as the outsides of the hive are so enlarged as to leave galleries from side to side beyond the ends of the bars, there is easy access allowed to the fingers in removing. Another noteworthy improvement is the addition of a "dummy frame," which is merely a thin piece of board of the same size as a frame, and whose use is either to contract the dimensions of the hive according to the population, or to make room, by its removal for the extraction of the first comb.
The frames are held firm and kept at their correct distances apart by means of small staples, and a slit is formed lengthways for the insertion of impressed wax sheets or guide-strips cut from these. The crown-board rests on the thin edge of zinc, in order that it may be replaced more quickly, with less danger of crushing a bee than on a broader surface. There is a feeding-hole in the centre of the board, which in some hives is closed by a zinc slide running in an opening cut out of the wood, and in others is covered by a wooden block. In the more highly finished hives two long openings are cut for admitting bees to the super. Two slides for each opening are supplied—one pair being of plain zinc for closing them entirely, the other with slits cut of three-sixteenths of an inch in width for the purpose of queen-preventers (see Chap. IV. § xvii.). The supers are similar, but not so deep, and have eight frames instead of nine; they are, however, frames, and not mere bars as ordinarily. The sides and top are of glass, with baize-lined shutters.
A hive intermediate between this and the Philadelphia (§ xii.), and which may be called "The Cottager's Improved Frame Hive," is shown inside the opened cover on page 179. It has a straw crown-board and a larger window, and is designed to admit a zinc adapter with queen-preventing perforations; in other respects it is identical with the above hive.
2. Straw.—The figure overleaf exhibits "Neighbours' New Straw Frame Hive," with super attached. It is of exactly the same size and construction as the foregoing. There is a straw crown-board with feeding-hole in the centre, and two slits of zinc with queen-preventing openings as above. The supers of the straw hive are made of its own material, but have three windows instead of one. The advantages of straw for hives are described under the Woodbury straw hive, above.