The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-07
CHARACTERISTICS OF BeEHIvEs.
Popular Styles of Hives-The Size That
Meets the Greatest Favor.

Popular Styles of Hives-The Size That
Meets the Greatest Favor.
At present there are only two or three
styles of hive used to any great extent
The one IN most general use is the Lang
stroth. The hive is simply q box with
out top or bottom, having rabbets upon
two opposite inside upper edges. In
these rabbets rest the projecting ends Of
the top bars of the hanging frames.
This hive is set upon board having
raised rim around its outer edge upon
three sides. The absence of rim upon
one side furnishes an entrance. The
cover is plain board, cleated at each
end to- prevent warping. This hive is
made in various shapes and sizes to suit
the whim or needs of the user.
The size that meets with the greatest
favor is that holding frames 175s inches
in length by 91s in depth. Eight, ten,
and sometimes a greater number of
frames are used. Small hives, with
small number of frames, are needed in
those localities whore the honey harvest
comes early and is of short duration.
With large hive in such locality,
there is not time to get the hive filled
with brood, bees and honey before the
harvest is over. Where the harvest is
long continued, the large hive finds
more favor. 1t is more important that
the right size Of hive should be used
when working for comb honey, as, if 1t
is too large, great share Of what
should be surplus goes into the hive. In
the production of extracted honey, a
large hive does not prevent success, as
the honey can be extracted if it is stored
in the brood apartment, but it is more
convenient and desirable to have the
surplus stored wholly in separate
apartment.
In the foregoing style Of hives, the
frames are of the hanging style-that
is, they hang from the projecting ends
of the top bars. The frames are placed
perhaps three-eighths of an inch apart,
and can be pressed closer together, thus
making wider space from which to
take out the first comb. Another style
of hives has close fitting uprights, or
end bars, these end bars forming two
sides of the hive. The other two sides
are formed by setting up boards and
holding them in place by some mechan-
ical continuance like loop Of wire pass
ed around the heads of nails driven into
the edges of the boards. The size Of such
hive can be easily changed by adding
to or taking from the number Of frames.
This form Of hive is not much used at
present.
A style of hive having close fitting
ends to its frames, the frames being
placed in a case and the end bars pressed
tightly together by thumbscrews, is be-
ing used considerably by men who are
making speciality Of beekeeping. The
frames and cases are shallow, two of
the latter being used to make up hive
This makes brood nest that is hori
zontally Invisible, which enables the
beekeeper to do some things by simply
handli ling the cases of shallow combs
that in other styles of hive would neces-
state the handling Of combs singly.
The frames being held tightly in place
by screws, the cases may be inverted or
used either side up The inversion Of
the brood frames at the proper time in
duces the bees to rear greater quantities
Of brood, to enter the section more readi-
ly, and they also fill the frames more
completely with comb, according to
Country Gentleman, authority for the
foregoing descriptive facts.