The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-02-01
Section Of Hive.

uo0 VI ohy Va PcWSl SASOpk
4 common hand-saw. Having the rab.
bet sawed out, the work Of making .
hive body is almost done.
The mailing should be started upon
a perfectly fiat surface.
It is best to have a kind of platform
= little larger than the hive with a
cleat tsrongly nailed at one edge) for
a bumper to nail against; and another
cleat strongly nailed at one edge) for
angles to the first one.
The mailing a be finished by turn.
Ing the hive on its side, and the hive
corners can be kept at right angles
by using a square. When the hive is
nailed together, then put in the tin
rabbets.
You need not gouge out any hand
holes by which to lift the hives. 1t is
easier to make cleats six or eight
inches long, planned on their upper
edges, and slanting outward and down.
ward; with the ends whitfield round so
that they will shed water. One OF
these nailed on each end of the hive
will make lifting the hive easy.
For cover and bottom boards 1 get
lumber IA inches in width, using the
best for covers and the poorest for
bottom boards. Sometimes l make
the bottom of two pieces.
All Of the covers and bottom are
sawed exactly two feet long, and have
cleats two inches square nailed under
bach end. The cleat at the back end
Of the bottom board is nailed about
one-half inch from the end for con.
%venience in lifting, and the cleat in
the front Is nailed flush with the end
for the convenience of the bees. The
cleats for the cover should be nailed
so as to give a play of about one.
eighth inch.
Lath can generally be found Of the
right thickness to make the three.
eighth inch bee space for the bottom
board. II too thick it Is not much
work to reduce them with a plane.
1 have never adopted the cheaper
way Of making a hive cap Of the same
size as the body.
Our caps are all made larger than
the bodies, and telescope on them in
the old way. The hive is a little more
expensive, but we have a better fit,
and a much better protection against
robbers, moths, cold. etc.
An open Joint will do in the sum
mer, but in other seasons, especially
in spring. we want a well-closed cover
A slight variation in the width and
depth of the hives is immaterial, pro
vided, Of course, that the frames dc
not come too close to the bottom Of
the hive. The important point Is the
inside length from the front to the
back. This must be accurate or the
frames will not fit. The two enc
pieces should come between the sides
and, II necessary, be placed a little II
or out to secure exact length. The
supers are constructed in a similar
way.
The lumber for the hive frame!
should be bought in long strips; sim
ply ripped out of some boards. Thi!
is much cheaper and is just as useful
Provide a mitre-box; fit 1t at thu
end OF a bench and adjust, a stop
block at the proper distance; take
few strips at a time, put them in tn,
mitre-box, then push them until the!
reach the stop, and saw of. Keep OF
repeating until you have enough
frames cut.
Cut the top and bottom pieces
square, and these ahould come be
tween the end pieces, 1t is necessar.
to make the frames Of an exact size
so that they will be uniformly alik'
and can be changed from one hive t
another.