The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-06-22
How to Make a Beehive.

Many people suppose a movable
comb bee. tohbe very compli-
Gated affair-sOIne patent hives do
have as many "fixings" as a steam
engine-but the hives used by prac-
tical, experienced apiarists are usu.
ally very simple in construction.
The majority of movable-comb hives
in this country are plain boxes, in
which the combs, built inside of
light wooden frames, hang side by
side.
When the material tor hives is cut
out by machinery, the corners are
usually joined with a mitre joint,
thus allowing crOss-nailing which;
prevents the boards from varying +,
but, when few hives are made bv
hand, unless the workman is an
expert with the hand-saw and mitre-
box, better results would prob
ably be obtained by joining the
corners after the well-kuown man
ner in which dry goods boxes are
nailed together. BY placing the
heart side of the boards outside the
hive, the liability of warping is
greatly reduced. A rabbet is cut
from the top of two sides of the
hive, on Che inside, in which to hang
the frames. The cover is simply
shallow boX-about two inches
deep-and just large enough, when
turned bottom side uppermost, for
the sides to slip down over The up
per edge of the hive. The bottom
board, or stand for the hive, is an
inch board, a little larger than the
bottom of the hive, with two heavy
cleats nailed underneath. For an ell
trance, the middle of one edge OF
the bottom board is beveled or
chamfered, upon its upper side, thus
allowing the bees to pass under one
side of the hive. Bysliding the hive
forward upon the bottom board, the
entrance can be enlarged during hot
weather while, if robber bees are
troublesome, or during cold wealth
er, by sliding the hive back, the en-
trance can be nearly or quite closed.
Saw dust should be spread around
the hives until it reaches the top of
the bottom board. The frames in
which the bees build their combs arc
made by mailing together strips of
wood about three-eights of an inch
thick, and seven-eights of an inch
wide. The size of the frames will,
of course, depend upon the length
of the strips of wood from which
they are made. There are
many different sizes of frames
What is called the Langs-
troth frame is used more than any
other size. This frame is nine and
one-eighth inches deep, and seven
teen and five-eighths inches long,
outside measurement. Hives that
have this style and size of frame are
usually made large enough to hold
ten frames. The space between the
bottom board and the frames is also
the same distance From center to
center, the frames hang about an
inch and half apart.
AS the body of hive is simply a
box without top or bottom, hives
can be used one above another; thus
when hive becomes full of Abees,
brood and honey, another hive filed
with empty combs, to be emptied
with the extractor when full of
honey, can be used as an upper story;
or this upper hive can be filled with
broad frames in which are placed
section" honey boxes. Hives of this
style arc sometimes tered up three
or four stories high.
For covering over the frames
many use a thin board called a
ahoney" board. but piece of enam-
eled cloth, similar to that used by |
carriage-makers, is much better.
Unless hives are to be shaded dur |
ing the hottest part of the day, they |
should be painted white.