A Description of the Bar-and-Frame-Hive | Page 6

variations of the temperature, is removed by the construction of the
"bar frame-hive;" for the bee-frames form, as it were, a smaller box
within the oblong box, and are not in immediate contact with the
external air, but have a half inch space nearly all round them, which
will to a certain extent maintain an equable temperature for the bees,
both in summer and winter.
Any moisture condensed from the heated air generated by the bees, is
carried off through the perforated sheets of zinc above the frames, and
cool store-room for the honey is also thus secured.
A feeding trough is made on the principle of a bird-glass: with a tin
feeder and a small bottle for the liquid food to be put into.
[Illustration: Fig. IV.]
The tin feeder is six inches by 7-1/2 long, and one inch deep, and just
fits on to the top of the bee-frames, where the perforated sheets of zinc
are laid; within this feeder a half inch opening is cut at the bottom, fig 4,
a, and an inclined plane b, reaching half way up the depth of the trough;
and a sheet of perforated tin, c (placed horizontally from point b,)
through which the bees suck the food, which is kept at the same level
by atmospheric pressure; for as the food is drawn down below the
mouth of the bottle, d, air forces itself into the bottle, and the same
quantity of food trickles down into the feeder, a piece of glass, e,

exactly the same size as the feeder, is placed over it, through which the
bees may be seen whilst feeding, and the feeding trough will be nearly
of the same temperature as the interior of the box or hive, and prevent
the bees being chilled, as they would be in winter, if compelled to
descend for their food; and besides, the bees are less likely to be
attacked by wasps or strange bees when fed from above, as the
intruders would have to ascend through the mass of bees in the box,
which would be attended with danger to them.
The bees can be fed when necessary by one of the sheets of perforated
zinc being drawn on one side, and the feeding trough, with the bottle of
food in it, being placed over the opening; when the bees will ascend
through the half inch space at a, and feed themselves with the liquid, or
carry it away and store it up for future use.

HIVES AND BEE-BOXES.
Having given a description of the bar-frame-hive, it will be as well to
enter into the comparative advantages of using wooden boxes and straw
hives.
Some apiarians confine themselves to the use of straw hives, others to
wooden boxes, and a third party use both; but as far as the bees are
concerned it matters little what kind of hive is given them, for if the
season be favourable, and the bee-pasturage rich with flowers, they
collect and store up the honey in their combs in any receptacle of any
shape or size, provided it affords them shelter from the weather.
Hives made of straw are generally preferred for an out-of-door apiary,
as being less liable to be over-heated by the rays of the sun, and in the
winter they exclude the cold better than hives made of other materials,
while the moisture arising from the bees is more quickly absorbed
within the hive, and does not run down the sides as it generally does in
wooden hives or boxes; at the same time they are always to be obtained
from their cheapness, and from their simplicity easily understood and
made use of; wooden boxes can only be used with advantage in a

bee-house, they stand firmer on the bottom boards, or one upon another,
they admit of having glass windows, through which to observe the
operations of the bees, and they are not so liable to harbour moths,
spiders, and other insects, as the straw hives.
The objects to be attained in the construction and management of an
apiary, are, to secure the prosperity and multiplication of the colonies
of bees, to increase the amount of their productive labour, and to obtain
their products with facility, and with the least possible detriment to the
stock. It is to the interest of the owner, therefore, that he provide for the
bees shelter against moisture, and the extremes of heat and
cold--especially, sudden vicissitudes of temperature, protection from
their numerous enemies, every facility for constructing their combs and
for rearing their brood, and that the hive should be so constructed as to
allow of every part of the combs to be inspected at any moment, and
capable of removal when requisite: and while attention is paid to
economy, it should be