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HANDICRAFT SERIES. 
 
 A Series of Practical Manuals. 
 
 Edited by PAUL N. HASLUCK, Editor of "Work." 
 
 Price SOcts. each, post paid. 
 
 House Decoration. Comprising Whitewashing, Paperhanging, 
 
 Painting, etc. With 79 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 Consents. — Colour ^nd Paints. Pigments, Oils, Driers, Varnishes, etc. Tools 
 used by Painters. How to Mix Oil Paints. Distemper or Tempera Painting. 
 Whitewashing and Decorating a Ceiling. Painting a Room. Papering a Room. 
 Embellishment of Walls and Ceilings. 
 Boot Making; and Mending;. Including Repairing, Lasting, and 
 
 Finishing. With 179 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 Contents. — Repairing Htels and Half-Soliog. Patching Boots and Shoes. 
 Re-Welting and Re-Soling. Boot ^Pjllaking. La<5ting the Upper. Sewing and 
 Stitching. Making the Heel. Knifing and Finishing. Making Riveted Boots 
 and Shoes. 
 Hov«f to Write Sigrns, Tickets, and Posters. With 170 Engravings 
 
 and Diagrams. 
 Contents. — The Formition of Letters, Stops, and Numerals. The Sign- 
 writer's Outfit. Making Signboards and Laying Ground Colours. The Simpler 
 Forms of Lettering. Shaded and Fancy Lettering. Painting a Signboard. 
 Ticket- Writing. Poster- Painting. Lettering with Gold, etc. 
 Wood Finishing;. Comprising Staining, Varnishing, and Polishing. 
 
 With Engravings and Diagrams. 
 Contents.— yxoc^%%&% of Finishing Wood. Processes of Staining Wood. 
 French Polishing. Fillers for Wood and Filling In. Bodying In and Spiriting 
 Off. Glazing and Wax Finishing. Oil Polishing and Dry Shining. Re-polishing 
 and Reviving. Hard Stopping or Beaumontage. Treatment of Floors Stains. 
 Processes of Varnishing Wood Varnishes. Re-polishing Shop Fronts. 
 Dynamos and Electric Motors. With 142 Engravings and Diagrams 
 Contents. — Introduction, Siemens Dynamo. Gramme Dj'namo. Manchester 
 Dynamo, Simplex Dynamo, Calculating the Size and Amount of Wire for 
 Small Dynamos. Ailments of Small Dynamo Electric Machines : their Causes 
 and Cures. Small Electro-motors without Castings. How to Determine the 
 Direction of Rotation of a Motor. How to Make a Shuttle-Armature Motor. 
 Undertype 50- Watt Dynamo. Manchester Type 440- Watt Dynamo. 
 Cycle Building: and Repairing;. With 142 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 Contents. — Introductory, and Tools Used. How to Build a Front Driver. 
 Building a Rear-driving Safety. Building Tandem Safeties. Building Front- 
 driver Iricycle. Building a Hand Tricycle. Brazing. How to Make and Fit 
 (.Jear Cases. Fittings and Accessories. Wheel Making. Tyres and Methods 
 of Fixing them. Enamelling. Repairing. 
 Decorative Desig;ns of All Ag;e8 f6r All Purposes. With 277 
 
 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 Contents. — Savage Ornament. Egyptian Ornament. Assyrian Ornament. 
 Greek Ornament. Roman Ornament. Early Christian Ornament. Arabic 
 Ornament. Celtic and Scandinavian Ornaments. Mediaeval Ornament. 
 Renascence and Modem Ornaments. Chinese Ornament. Persian Ornament. 
 Indian Ornament. Japanese Ornament. 
 Mounting; and Framing; Pictures. With 240 Engravings, etc. 
 
 Contents. — Making Picture Frames. Notes on Art Frames. Picture Frame 
 Cramps. Making Oxford Frames. Gilding Picture Frames. Methods of 
 Mounting Pictures. Making Photograph Frames. Frames covered with Plush 
 and Cork. Hanging and Packing Pictures. 
 Smiths' Work. With 211 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Forges and Appliances. Hand Tools. Drawing Down and Up- 
 setting. Welding and Punching. Conditions of Work : Principles of Forma- 
 tion. Bending and Ring Making. Miscellaneous Examples of Forged Work. 
 Cranks, Model Work, and Die Forging. Home-made Forges. The Manipula- 
 tion of Steel at the Forge. (Continued on next page.) 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, 610 South Washington Square, Philadelphia. 
 
HANDICRAFT SERIJSS (continued). 
 
 Glass Working: by Heat and Abrasion. With 300 Engravings 
 and Eliagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Appliances used in Glass Blowing. Manipulating Glass Tubing. 
 Blowing Bulbs and Flasks. Jointing Tubes to Bulbs forming Thistle Funnels, 
 etc. Blowing and Etching Glass Fancy Articles ; Embossing and Gilding Flat 
 Surfaces. Utilising Broken Glass Apparatus ; Boring Holes in, and Riveting 
 Glass. Hand-working of Telescope Specula. Turning, Chipping, and Grinding 
 Glass. The Manufacture of Glass. 
 Building: Model Boats. With 168 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Cf?«/^«/j.— Building Model Yachts. Rigging and Sailing Model Yachts. 
 Making and Fitting Simple Model Boats. Building a Model Atlantic Liner. 
 Vertical Engine for a Model Launch. Model Launch Engine with Reversing 
 Gear. Making a Show Case for a Model Boat. 
 
 Electric Bells, How to Make and Fit Them. With 162 En- 
 gravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — The Electric Current and the Laws that Govern it. Current 
 Conductors used in Electric- Bell Work. Wiring for Electric Bells. Elaborated 
 Systems of Wiring ; Burglar Alarms. Batteries for Electric Bells. The Con- 
 struction of Electric Bells, Pushes, and Switches. Indicators for Electric-Bell 
 Systems. 
 Bamboo Work. With 177 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Bamboo : Its Sources and Uses. How to Work Bamboo. Bamboo 
 Tables. Bamboo Chairs and Seats. Bamboo Bedroom Furniture. Bamboo 
 Hall Racks and Stands. Bamboo Music Racks. Bamboo Cabinets and Book- 
 cases. Bamboo Window Blinds. Miscellaneous Articles of Bamboo. Bamboo 
 Mail Cart. 
 Taxidermy. With 108 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 C<7«/^«/,r.— Skinning Birds. Staffing and Mounting Birds. Skinning and 
 Stuffing Mammals. Mounting Animals' Horned Heads : Polishing and Mount- 
 ing Horns. Skinning, Stuffing, and Casting Fish. Pieserving, Cleaning, and 
 Dyeing Skins. Preserving Insects, and Birds' Eggs. Cases for Mounting 
 Specimens. 
 Tailoring:. With 180 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Tailors' Requisites and Methods of Stitching. Simple Repairs 
 and Pressing. Relining, Repocketing, and Recollaring. How to Cut and 
 Make Trousers. How to Cut and Make Vests. Cutting and Making Lounge 
 and Reefer Jackets. Cutting and Making Morning and Frock Coats. 
 Photog:raphic Cameras and Accessories. Comprising How to 
 Make Cameras, Dark Slides, Shutters, and Stands. With 160 
 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Photographic Lenses and How to Test them. Modern Half-plate 
 Cameras. Hand and Pocket Cameras. Ferrotype Cameras. Stereoscopic 
 Cameras. Enlarging Cameras. Dark Slides. Cinematograph Management. 
 
 Optical Lanterns. Comprising The Construction and Management 
 OF Optical Lanterns and the Making of Slides. With 160 
 Illustrations. 
 Contents. — Single Lanterns. Dissolving View Lanterns. lUuminant for 
 Optical Lanterns. Optical Lantern Accessories. Conducting a Limelight 
 Lantern Exhibition. Experiments with Optical Lanterns. Painting Lantern 
 Slides. Photographic Lantern Slides. Mechanical Lantern Slides. Cinemato- 
 graph Management. 
 
 Eng^raving: Metals. With Numerous Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Introduction and Terms used. Engravers' Tools and their Uses. 
 Elementary Exercises in Engraving. Engraving Plate and Precious Metals. 
 Engraving Monograms. Transfer Processes of Engraving Metals. Engraving 
 Name Plates. Engraving Coffin Plates. Engraving Steel Plates. Chasing 
 and Embossing Metals. Etching Metals. 
 
 Basket Work. With 189 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Tools and Materials. Simple Baskets. Grocer's Square Baskets. 
 Round Baskets. Oval Baskets. Flat Fruit Baskets. Wicker Elbow Chairs. 
 Basket Bottle-casings. Doctors' and Chemists' Baskets. Fancy Basket Work. 
 Sussex Trug Basket. Miscellaneous Basket Work. Index 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, 610 South Washington Square, Philadelphia. 
 
HANDICRAFT SEtjIES {continued). 
 
 Bookbinding . With 125 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Bookbinders' Appliances. Folding Printed Book Sheets. Beat- 
 ing and Sewing. Rounding, Backing, and Cover Cutting. Cutting Book Edges. 
 Covering Books. Cloth-bound Books, Pamphlets, etc. Account Books, 
 Ledgers, etc. Coloring, Sprinkling, and Marbling Book Edges. Marbling 
 Book Papers, Gilding Book Edges. Sprinkling and Tree Marbling Book 
 Covers. Lettering, Gilding, and Finishing Book Covers. Index. 
 Bent Iron \A^ork. Including Elementary Art Metal Work. With 
 269 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Tools and Materials. Bending and Working Strip Iron. Simple 
 Exercises in Bent Iron. Floral Ornaments for Bent Iron Work. Candlesticks. 
 Hall Lanterns. Screens, Grilles, etc. Table Lamps. Suspended Lamps and 
 Flower Bowls, Photograph Frames. Newspaper Rack. Floor Lamps. 
 Miscellaneous Examples. Index. 
 
 Photography. With 70 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — The Camera and its Accessories, The Studio and Darkroom. 
 Plates. Exposure. Developing and Fixing Negatives. Intensification and 
 Reduction of Negatives. Portraiture and Picture Composition. Flashlight 
 Photography. Retouching Negatives. Processes of Printing from Negatives. 
 Mounting and Finishing Prints. Copying and Enlarging. Stereoscopic 
 Photography. Ferrotype Photography. Index. 
 
 Upholstery. With 162 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — -Upholsterers' Materials. Upholsterers' Tools and Appliances. 
 Webbing, Springing, Stuffing, and Tufting. Making Seat Cushions and Squabs. 
 Upholstering an Easy Chair. Upholstering Couches and Sofas, Upholstering 
 Footstools, Fenderettes, etc. Miscellaneous Upholstery, Mattress Making 
 and Repairing. Fancy Upholstery. Renovating and Repairing Upholstered 
 Furniture. Planning and Laying Carpets and Linoleum. Index, 
 
 Leather Working. With 152 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Qualities and Varieties of Leather. Strap Cutting and Making. 
 Letter Cases and Writing Pads. Hair Brush and Collar Cases, Hat Cases. 
 Banjo and Mandoline Cases. Bags. Portmanteaux and Travelling Trunks. 
 Knapsacks and Satchels. Leather Ornamentation, Footballs. Dyeing 
 Leather. Miscellaneous Examples of Leather Work. Index. 
 
 Harness Making. With 197 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Harness Makers* Tools. Harness Makers' Materials. Simple 
 Exercises in Stitching. Looping. Cart Harness. Cart Collars. Cart Saddles. 
 Fore Gear and Leader Harness. Plough Harness. Bits, Spurs, Stirrups, and 
 Harness Furniture. Van and Cab Harness. Index. 
 
 Saddlery. With 99 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Gentleman's Riding Saddle, Panel for Gentleman's Saddle. 
 Ladies' Side Saddles. Children's Saddles or Pilches, Saddle Cruppers, Breast- 
 plates, and other Accessories, Riding Bridles, Breaking-down Tackle Head 
 Collars. Horse Clothing. Knee-caps and Miscellaneous Articles. Repairing 
 Harness and Saddlery. Re-lining Collars and Saddles. Riding and Driving 
 Whips. Superior Set of Gig Harness. Index. 
 
 Knotting and Splicing, Ropes and Cordage. With 208 
 
 Engravings and Diagrams, 
 C(?«/^«/j.— Introduction, Rope Formation. Simple and Useful Knots. 
 Eye Knots, Hitches and Bends, Ring Knots and Rope Shortenings, Ties 
 and Lashings. Fancy Knots, Rope Splicing. Working Cordage, Ham- 
 mock Making. Lashings and Ties for Scafifolding. Splicing and Socketing 
 Wire Ropes, Index. 
 
 Beehives and Beekeepers' Appliances. With 155 Engravings 
 
 and Diagrams. 
 Contents. — Introduction. A Bar-Frame Beehive. Temporary Beehive. 
 Tiering Bar-Frame Beehive. The *' W. B. C." Beehive, Furnishing and 
 Stocking a Beehive, Observatory Beehive for Permanent Use. Observatory 
 Beehive for Temporary Use. Inspection Case for Beehives. Hive for Rear- 
 ing Queen Bees. Super-Clearers. Bee Smoker. Honey Extractors. Wax 
 Extractors. Beekeepers' Miscellaneous Appliances. Index. 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher, 6io South Washington Square, Philadelphia. 
 
BEEHIVES AND 
 BEE KEEPERS' 
 
 APPLIANCES 
 
 With Numerous Engravings and Diagrams 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 PAUL N. HASLUGK 
 
 Author of " Handyhooks for Handicrafts." etc. etc 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher 
 
 610, SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE 
 1911 
 
Univ. Library, UC Santa Cruz 1997 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 This Handbook contains, in form convenient for 
 everyday use, a comprehensive digest of the knowledge 
 of beehives and bee keepers' appliances, scattered over 
 more than twenty thousand columns of Work — one 
 of the weekly journals it is my fortune to edit — 
 and supplies concise information on the details of the 
 suV)jects of which it treats. 
 
 Readers who may desire additional information 
 respecting special details of the matters dealt with in 
 this Handbook, or instructions on kindred subjects, 
 should address a question to the Editor of Work, La 
 Belle Sauvage, London, E.C., so that it may be answered 
 in the columns of that journal. 
 
 P. N. HASLUCK. 
 
 La Belle Sauvage, London. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 L— Introduction : A Bar-frame Beehive . . 9 
 
 II.— Temporary Beehive 19 
 
 III.— Tiering Bar-frame Beehive . . . .25 
 
 lY.— The "W.B.C." Beehive .... 41 
 
 V. — Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive . . 48 
 
 VI. — Observatory Beehive for Permanent Use . 68 
 
 VII. — Observatory Beehive for Temporary Use . 74 
 
 VIII. — Inspection Case for Beehives . . .84 
 
 IX. — Hive for Rearing Queen Bees . . .89 
 
 X.— Super-clearers 96 
 
 XL— Bee Smokers 102 
 
 XII.— Honey Extractors 116 
 
 XIII.— Wax Extractors . . . . . .133 
 
 XIV.— Bee Keepers' Miscellaneous Appliances . 141 
 Index 158 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FIG. PAGE 
 
 1.— Cross Section of Bar- 
 frame Beehive . . 12 
 2.— Longitudinal Section of 
 
 Bar-frame Beehive . 13 
 3.— Floor Board of Beehive 14 
 4.— Brood Chamber Outer 
 
 Casing . . , .15 
 5.— Slide Piece for Entrance 15 
 6.— Lift over Brood Cham- 
 ber 16 
 
 7.— Cone Bee Escape in 
 
 Beehive Roof . . 17 
 8.— Lining of Brood Cham- 
 ber 18 
 
 9.— Temporary Beehive . 19 
 
 10.— Section of Temporary- 
 Beehive ... 20 
 
 11.— Section of Inner Wall . 21 
 
 12. Box Cut to Fit Two 
 
 Roofs . . . .22 
 
 13.— Device to Prevent End- 
 shake of Frames . . 23 
 
 14.— Tiering Bar-frame Bee- 
 hive arranged for 
 Summer Use . . .27 
 
 15.— Tiering Bar-frame Bee- 
 hive arranged for 
 Winter Use ... 29 
 
 16.— Longitudinal Section of 
 Tiering Bar-frame Bee- 
 hive . . . .30 
 
 17.— Cross Section of Tiering 
 
 Bar-frame Beehive . 31 
 
 18.—" Eke " for Increasing 
 
 Height of Lift . . 32 
 
 19. — Body -box of Tiering 
 
 Bar-frame Beehive . 33 
 
 20.— Tongue - and - groove 
 
 Joint . . . .34 
 
 21.— Floor Bearer ... 35 
 
 22.— Floor Board ... 36 
 
 23.— Cutting Beehive Roof 
 
 Gables .... 37 
 
 24.— Beehive Roof Wings . 39 
 
 25.— Parts of " W.B.C." Bee- 
 hive . . . .42 
 
 26.— Inside of " W.B.C." Bee- 
 hive . . . .43 
 
 27.— Plinth .... 44 
 
 28.— Section of Top Edge of 
 Front and Back of 
 Body-box . . .45 
 
 29, 30.— Marking Out Legs of 
 
 Stand . . .45, 46 
 
 31.— Cutting Shoulders of 
 
 Legs of Stand . . 46 
 
 32, 33.— Cross Sections of 
 
 Stand Legs ... 47 
 
 FIG. PAQK 
 
 34.— B.B.K.A. Standard 
 
 Frame . . . .43 
 35.— Broad - shouldertKi 
 
 Frame . . . .49 
 36.— Abbot's Broad-shoul- 
 dered Frame . . .49 
 37, 38.— Plain Frames with 
 
 "W.B.C." Ends . . 50 
 39.— Wired Bar Frame . . 51 
 40.— American Jointed 
 
 Frame . . . .52 
 41.— Securing Side Bars of 
 
 Frame to Top Bar . 52 
 42.— Wax Sheet Fixed in 
 
 Frame . . . .53 
 43.— Frame Wired to receive 
 
 Foundation ... 53 
 44.— Block for Wiring Frame 54 
 45. — Gauge Board ... 55 
 46.— Woiblet Spur Embedder 56 
 47.— Wheel of Woiblet Spur 
 
 Embedder . . .56 
 48.— Spur Embedder with 
 
 Wooden Handle . . 57 
 49.— Embedder made with 
 
 Floor Brad ... 57 
 50.— Hoffman Self-spacing 
 
 Frame . . . .58 
 51.— "W.B.C." Tinplate End 59 
 52.— Cast Metal End . . 59 
 53.— Howard Tinplate End . 60 
 54.— Pine's Cast Metal End . 60 
 55.— Staples used as End 
 
 Spacers ... 61 
 
 56.— Back View of Dummy . 62 
 57.— Section of Dummy . 63 
 58.— Simple Form of Dummy 63 
 59.— Old Style of Queen 
 
 Excluder . . .63 
 
 60.— Section with Founda- 
 tion .... 64 
 61. — Section before Folding 64 
 62.— Cross Section of Crate . 65 
 63.— Longitudinal Section of 
 
 Crate .... 65 
 64.— Section of Metal Bar . 65 
 65.— Section Divider . . 66 
 66.— Vertical Section 
 
 through Observatory 
 Beehive ... 69 
 
 67.— Half Cross Section and 
 Half Back Elevation 
 of Observatory Bee- 
 hive .... 70 
 S8.— Front Elevation of Ob- 
 servatory Beehive - . 71 
 39.— Observatory Beeliive for 
 
 Temporary Use . . 75 
 
8 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 FIG. PAGE 
 
 70.— Vertical Cross Section 
 of Observatory Bee- 
 hive .... 76 
 
 -Horizontal Section of 
 Observatory Beehive 77 
 
 -Sectional Plan of Ob- 
 servatory Beehive Top 77 
 
 -Inside Frame of Obser- 
 vatory Beehive . . 79 
 
 75.— Mounting Observa- 
 tory Beehive . . 81, 82 
 
 -Inspection Case for 
 Beehives ... 84 
 
 -Section of Inspection 
 Case . . . .85 
 
 -End Elevation of In- 
 spection Case . . 85 
 
 -Arrangement of Case to 
 Fit Two Lengths of 
 Beehives . . .86 
 
 -Securing End Openings 
 of Inspection Case . 87 
 
 —Cross Section of In- 
 spection Case . . 87 
 
 —Handle for Lifting 
 Frames . . . .88 
 
 —Hive for Rearing 
 Queen Bees ... 90 
 
 —Plan of Body-box . . 91 
 
 —Section of Hive for 
 Rearing Queen Bees 91 
 
 71.- 
 72.- 
 73.- 
 74. 
 76. 
 77. 
 78. 
 79. 
 
 80. 
 
 81. 
 
 82. 
 
 83. 
 
 84. 
 85. 
 
 86. 
 87. 
 88 
 89 
 
 90. 
 91.- 
 
 92. 
 
 93. 
 
 94, 
 
 96. 
 97 
 
 ■Modified Body-box . 92 
 —Division Board . . 92 
 —Distance Rack . . 93 
 —Foot of Hive for Rear- 
 ing Queen Bees . . 94 
 ■Porter Bee Escape . 97 
 —Super-clearer Com- 
 
 plete .... 98 
 ,— Section of Super- 
 clearer . . . .99 
 —Clearer in Use between 
 Hive and Super . . 100 
 95.— Bingham Bee 
 
 Smoker . . 103, 104 
 
 —Pattern of Funnel . 105 
 .—Smoker Diaphragm . 106 
 .—Coned Blast Pipe . 107 
 
 99.— Nicked Tube for Mak- 
 ing Blast Pipe . . 107 
 100.— Spring . . . .109 
 101.— Wire for Making 
 
 • Spring . . . .109 
 102.— Bottom Board of 
 
 Bellows . . .110 
 
 103.— Clarke Smoker . . Ill 
 104.— Section of Clarke 
 
 Smoker . . .111 
 
 105.— Pattern of Funnel . 113 
 106.— Bottom of Funnel . .114 
 107.— Diaphragm of Clarke 
 
 Smoker . . .214 
 
 108.— Little Wonder Honey 
 
 Extractor . . .117 
 
 FIG. PAGE 
 
 109.— Section of Little Won- 
 der Extractor . 118 
 110. — Section of Can and 
 
 Cage . . . .118 
 111, 112.— Little Wonder Can 
 
 and Cage . . .119 
 113.— Pattern for Top and 
 
 Bottom of Extractor . 120 
 114.— Corner of Cage of 
 Little Wonder Ex- 
 tractor . . .121 
 
 115, 116.— Cylinder Honey 
 
 Extractor . . .122 
 117.— Frames, Baskets, etc. . 123 
 118.— Wired Tinplate . . 123 
 119.— Rectangular Band and 
 
 Bridge . . .124 
 
 120.— Pattern of Slide . . 125 
 121.— Bands, Slides, and 
 
 Bridges of Extractor . 127 
 122.— Half of Comb Basket . 128 
 123.— Section through Comb 
 
 Basket . . .129 
 
 124.— Bolt for Cross-bar . 132 
 125.— Solar Wax Extractor . 134 
 126.— Glazing Top of Solar 
 
 Wax Extractor . . 135 
 127.— Foot of Solar Extrac- 
 tor Stand . . .135 
 128.— Revolving Top of Wax 
 
 Extractor . . .136 
 129.— Washer and Screw. . 136 
 130.— Section of Gerster Wax 
 
 Extractor . . .137 
 131.— Pattern for Cylindrical 
 
 Top of Boiler . . 139 
 132— 134.— Float Bee Feeder. ]41 
 135.— Raynor Bee Feeder . 142 
 136, 137.— Base for Bee 
 
 Feeder . . . 142, 143 
 138.— Bee Feeder with 
 
 Square Base . . .143 
 139.— Hone Dummy Feeder . 144 
 140.— Rapid Bee Feeder . 145 
 141.— Section of Rapid Bee 
 
 Feeder . . . .147 
 142.— Bennett Self-hiver . 148 
 143.— Alley's Self-hiver . . 149 
 144.— Front View of Swarm 
 
 Catcher . . .150 
 
 145.— Section of Swarm 
 
 Catcher . . .151 
 
 146.— Hive Entrance with 
 
 Flexible Springs . 151 
 147. 148.— Queen Cages . 152, 153 
 149.— Spring for Queen Bee 
 
 Cage . . . .153 
 150, 151.— Driving Irons . . 154 
 152.— Bingham Knife . . 155 
 153.— Comb Cutter . . .155 
 154.— Cheshire Transferring 
 
 Board .... 156 
 155. — Cutting Tongues from 
 
 Board . . . .157 
 
BEEHIVES AND 
 BEE KEEPERS' APPLIANCES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 introduction: a bar-frame beehive. 
 
 Bee keeping has long been a science, and it took 
 its greatest step towards that position when the 
 bar-framed hive superseded the primitive straw 
 skep. The bee keeper can now regulate the affairs 
 of the bees' household, arrange their marriages, the 
 strength of their forces, the proportion of males to 
 females, and their comfort in summer and in winter. 
 He partakes of the fruits of their labour, and causes 
 them to obtain far more honey than their natural 
 instinct would prompt. All these powers, and 
 several others, date from the invention and per- 
 fection of the bar-framed hive. Before that time, 
 from ten to twenty pounds of honey were consumed 
 by the bees in manufacturing one pound of wax, 
 and as honey and wax were about the same price 
 then, it was evidently a loss of about two thousand 
 per cent, to the bee keeper. The idea struck some- 
 body that if he gave the bees a lump of wax, they 
 might be induced to utilise that and save the honey, 
 but they would not touch it. Then he thought of 
 reducing the wax to thin sheets, but the bees would 
 not touch it even in that condition. The next step 
 was to impress the foundation of the cells upon the 
 sheet of wax, and the bees were found to take 
 kindly to it in this condition, to draw it out mto 
 perfect combs for brood and honey. The modern 
 bee keeper, therefore, supplies his bees with sheets 
 
lo Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 of comb foundation, which can be purchased at a 
 cheap rate, and will save at least ten times its 
 cost. 
 
 One of the advantages of the movable-frame 
 hive is the facility with which comb foundation can 
 be fixed in it, but it is only a minor advantage, for 
 with a little management foundation can be fixed 
 in almost any hive. The principal advantage is the 
 ease with which all the combs and the health and 
 condition of the inmates can be examined. For 
 example, it is sometimes found that the queen is 
 lost, and if there are no eggs or very young larvae 
 w^ith which to make a new queen, the fate of the 
 colony is doomed except a new queen is provided, 
 and the bee keeper could scarcely ascertain the 
 loss of the queen were he to use the ordinary skep 
 hives. Again, towards winter some colonies have 
 more than enough stores, while others, if left to 
 themselves, would die of starvation before the 
 spring came ; the bee keeper, ascertaining this, 
 gives to the weak ones some of the superfluous 
 stores of the others. This shows not alone the ad- 
 vantage of the movable-frame hive, but the 
 necessity of having all the frames in an apiary 
 interchangeable, and made to a standard size. 
 
 The question is often asked by a novice in bee 
 culture, "What is the size of a standard hive?'' 
 Whilst there is no absolutely fixed standard in this 
 country, the British Bee Keepers' Association re- 
 commend a standard frame, which has been 
 adopted generally throughout the British Isles ; its 
 dimensions are 14 in. long by 8^ in. deep, the top 
 bar being 17 in. long, thus forming a lug at each 
 end for convenience of handling the frames when 
 filled with comb. 
 
 The British Bee Keepers' Association have also 
 determined the thickness of material of which the 
 frames are to be made— the top bar | in. thick, 
 the sides J in. thick, and the bottom bar J in. thick, 
 all being \ in. wide ; and as frames of these dimen- 
 
Introduction : Bar-frame Beehive, ii 
 
 sions are stocked by all bee-appliance dealers, there 
 is some advantage gained by sticking closely to 
 standard measurements. But a thickness of only 
 I in. for the top bar makes a frame weak and likely, 
 when the comb is filled with honey and brood, to 
 sag considerably, and when surplus receptacles are 
 placed over sagging frames a void is left which the 
 bees are not slow to take advantage of to fill with 
 either brace comb or propolis, both very undesir- 
 able substances in the position named. Some 
 apiarists have adopted a top bar \ in. thick, the 
 extra \ in. of thickness adding considerably to its 
 stability ; but the plan has this disadvantage, that 
 the frames are not strictly standard, although 
 standard outside measurements are adhered to. 
 
 A " bee- space ^' is, approximately, y\ in., that is 
 to say, a bee can pass between two boards spaced 
 y\ in. apart. If a space is less than this, the bees 
 will fill it with propolis or bee-glue, a sticky resin- 
 ous substance exuded by and gathered from the 
 buds of trees; if more than | in., the space will 
 have comb built in it. It is customary, therefore, 
 to allow a free bee-space of \ in. round the ends 
 of the frames, and a space of | in. below them. It 
 will be evident from this that any hive must be 
 at least 14j in. long and 8j in. deep, and provision 
 must be made for the overhanging top bar. 
 
 As bees build their combs about li in. from 
 centre to centre, it follows that the width of the 
 hive will depend upon how many frames it is de- 
 cided the hive shall accommodate, and this point 
 is determined by the style of hive adopted. 
 
 Hives may be roughly divided into two distinct 
 classes — long (or '^ combination ") and tiering. 
 The former is associated with the name of Charles 
 Nash Abbot, who may be considered the father of 
 British bee keeping, and is a hive warmly ad- 
 vocated by some. In it the frames hang parallel 
 with the entrance, ,the number provided for being 
 generally fifteen. In the tiering hive, the style 
 
12 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 most generally used, provision is made for ten 
 frames only, this being the number to which it is 
 usually considered expedient to limit the queen, 
 and the frames are usually arranged so that they 
 hang at a right angle to the entrance. 
 
 Fi"-. 1.— Cross Section of Bar- frame Beehive. 
 
 The portion of a hive allotted to the use of the 
 queen is spoken of as the ^^ brood nest '^ ; the por- 
 tions devoted to deprivation purposes are termed 
 surplus chambers or ''supers.'^ 
 
 The beehive shown in section by Figs. 1 and 2 
 is of about the best type, as the air space round the 
 brood chamber keeps the bees dry and warm in 
 
Introduction : Bar-frame Beehive. 13 
 
 winter, and cool in summer. It may be worked 
 either for extracted honey in shallow frames, or 
 with two or three crates of sections over the brood 
 nest. 
 
 Deal or pine (see p. 25) is used for the whole hive, 
 
 Fig'. 2. — Longitudinal Section of Bar-frame Beehive. 
 
 and the floor board and stand (Fig. 3) requires two 
 side pieces A (Figs. 1, 2, and 3), each 2 ft. 1 in. long 
 by 24 in. by 1 in. ; one back cross piece B (Fig. 2), 
 1 ft. 7 in. by 2^ in. by 1 in. ; and a front cross piece 
 c, 1 ft. 7 in. by 2j in. by 1 in. Working from the 
 back, the pieces are left the full width for 1 ft. 2 in., 
 f.hen reduced to 2j in. for 5i in., and at the front 
 
14 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 sloped down to } in. for the alighting board D (Figs. 
 2 and 3). The cross pieces are tenoned through the 
 sides, and the back part of the floor E, which should 
 be 1 ft. 7 in. long by 1 ft. 2 in. wide by | in. thick, 
 is nailed on. 
 
 The front part f, 5i in. wide and | in. below 
 the level of e to form the entrance, can next be 
 fixed, and then the alighting board d, which is 7 in. 
 wide by f in. thick, is secured and planed off level 
 with the front of the floor at the joint. Two pieces 
 G (Fig. 3), 5 in. long by 2j in. by | in., are prepared 
 and nailed on to form the sides of the entrance, and 
 four legs, 2 in. square and 6 in. long, are cut to the 
 
 Fig. 3.— Floor Board of Beehive. 
 
 shape shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and screwed to the 
 sides. 
 
 The outer casing of the brood chamber is shown 
 by Fig. 4, sections of it being given by Figs. 1 and 
 2. This is made of 9-in. stuff f in. thick, the front 
 and back pieces being 1 ft. 5| in. long, and the 
 sides 1 ft. 10 in. long, 3 in. of which projects in 
 front and is cut to the shape shown at h (Figs. 2 
 and 4), to carry the porch. Notches J, \ in. by 
 \ in. wide, are for the slides which regulate the 
 size of the entrance. 
 
 The box can now be nailed together, but, of 
 course, a better job results from dovetailing or 
 even lapping the joints. A 2i-in. by 4-in. plinth k 
 (Figs. 1, 2, and 4) should project 1 in. below the 
 
Introduction : Bar-frame Beehive, 
 
 IS 
 
 bottom of the box, and is nailed to the sides and 
 back to prevent wet penetrating ; it should be 
 bedded in thick white-lead paint, and it is advis- 
 
 Fig". 4. — Brood Chamber Outer Casing'. 
 
 able to give all joints a coating of the same material 
 before putting them together. 
 
 The porch l (Figs. 2 and 4) is about 3i in. wide 
 by \ in. thick, and can be nailed on, the slide piece 
 J at the front being also secured. If the necessary 
 tools for rebating this piece are not available, it 
 may be made up with two pieces, as shown in 
 detail by Fig. 5. Some bee keepers object to a 
 porch sloping towards the alighting board, as 
 
 m: 
 
 m 
 
 Fig. 5.— Slide Piece for Entrance. 
 
 shown in Figs. 2 and 4, as the water drains on to 
 the board, but to prevent this a small strip M (Fig. 
 2) may be nailed on the full length, or a groove may 
 be cut for the same purpose. 
 
1 6 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 For the lift (Fig. 6) over the brood chamber, 
 two pieces of pine, 1 ft. 6 in. long by 6 in. by \ in., 
 and two pieces, 1 ft. 7 in. by 6 in. by \ in., must be 
 prepared. These are nailed together to form a 
 bottomless box, as shown at z (Figs. 1 and 2). The 
 sides of the lift should be made to taper slightly, 
 so that the measurements across the top will be 
 1 ft. 7 in. bare both ways and 1 ft. 7^in. across 
 the bottom. This will allow the Jift to fit easily 
 over the brood chamber, and the roof to fit easily 
 on to the lift. A plinth n (Figs. 1, 2, and 6), of 2-in. 
 
 Fig. 6. — Lift over Brood Chamber. 
 
 by \-m. stuff, is nailed round the bottom edge of 
 the lift, to cover the joint. 
 
 Each hive should have two of these lifts, to 
 enable an extra lot of sections or shallow frames 
 to be put on, to prevent swarming when honey is 
 very plentiful. 
 
 The roof o (Figs. 1 and 2) requires two pieces 
 of J-in. stuff, 1 ft. 7 in. long by 9 in. wide in the 
 centre, tapered down to 6 in. at both ends, and 
 two pieces, 1 ft. 8 in. long by 6 in. by \ in., for 
 the sides. These are nailed together and planed 
 level at the top, then covered with two boards each 
 1 ft. 10 in. long by 1 ft. by \ in. Over these a 
 covering of sheet zinc should be placed to keep the 
 
Introduction : Bar-frame Beehive. 17 
 
 top weatherproof. To prevent the roof dropping 
 too far over the lift, a couple of \-m. by J-in. strips 
 p (Fig. 1) are nailed inside at the sides, or if a good 
 job has not been made of the fitting, the strips 
 should be fixed all round to keep out robber bees. 
 
 For ventilation, a hole is bored near the top of 
 the roof as shown at R (Fig. 2), and this should be 
 fitted with cone bee escapes (Fig. 7), to allow any 
 bees that happen to get over the quilt to find their 
 way out. (Fig. 7 shows a bee escape fitted to 
 another shape of hive.) 
 
 The inner lining of the brood chamber is shown 
 by Fig. 8. For this will be required two pieces S 
 
 Fig. 7. — Cone Bee Escape in Beehive Roof. 
 
 (Figs. 2 and 8) 1 ft. 3 in. long by 8^ in. by \ in., and 
 two T, 1 ft. 5 in. by 8^ in. by \ in. These are nailed 
 together to leave a space of 1 ft. 2^ in. between the 
 narrow pieces, and then two strips u are prepared, 
 1 ft. 3 in. by | in. by \ in., and nailed on, part of 
 Fig. 8 being broken away to show the arrangement 
 of this more clearly. To complete the lining, two 
 strips V, 1 ft. 4 in. by \\ in. by \ in., are nailed on. 
 
 The regulating slides for the entrance consist 
 of two strips 9 in. by 1 in. by \ in., and J (Fig. 2) 
 shows one of these in position. 
 
 To prevent the bees getting up between the 
 lining of the brood chamber and the casing, a loose 
 
 B 
 
1 8 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 piece w (Fig. 2), 1 ft. 4 in. long by Ij in. wide, is 
 
 dropped in to cover the sinking in the floor board. 
 
 The necessary internal fittings for this hive are 
 
 Fig. 8. — Lining of Brood Chamber. 
 
 described fully in Chapter Y. (pp. 48 to 67). They 
 include bar frames, comb foundation, queen bee 
 excluder zinc, etc. 
 
19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TEMPORARY BEEHIVE. 
 
 Whether the apiary be large or small, an appliance 
 which is always in request is a makeshift hive — any- 
 thing which, whilst not good enough to form a 
 
 Fig. 9. — Temporary Beehive. 
 
 permanent home for bees, will serve as a temporary 
 lodgment for them until they can be properly 
 housed. Fig. 9 is an isometric view of a hive for 
 such a purpose, and shows an alternative form 
 
20 Beehives and Bee Keeper^ Appliances. 
 
 of porch to that illustrated in the sectional view 
 (Fig. 10). 
 
 It is not advisable to waste good material on 
 an article of merely temporary use. Empty pack- 
 ing boxes can generally be obtained from grocers 
 for a few pence each. A couple of Orlando Jones' 
 starch boxes with lids provide sufficient material to 
 complete one hive. These boxes measure, inside, 
 17 in. long, 13| in. wide, and 9^ in. deep, and with 
 but a slight expenditure of labour and material 
 
 Fig. 10.— Section of Temporary BeeMve. 
 
 make capital makeshift or " nucleus '' hives, holding 
 eight frames, or ten at close spacing. 
 
 Select the better of the two boxes, and, choos- 
 ing the best end for the front, turn it upside down, 
 and mark a line on the bottom parallel with and dis- 
 tant from the front 2j in., and two others at right 
 angles therewith 3j in. from each side. Bore a 
 centre-bib hole and, with a pad-saw, remove the 
 parallelogram enclosed by the lines drawn. Now 
 take a piece of the lid, about 4^ in. wide and as long 
 as the width of the box, and nail it across so as to 
 
Temporary Beehive, 
 
 21 
 
 cover the portion of the bottom cut away and to 
 project in front some 2 in. or so, to form an alight- 
 ing board (see A, Figs. 9 and 10). Nail another 
 narrow strip B across the back end of the box so 
 that it may stand level, and if the joint of the 
 bottom is open, cover it also with a similar strip. 
 Stand the box on its bottom, and it will now be 
 seen, as shown by Fig. 9, that there is an opening 
 formed, about 7 in. wide and | in. high, by which 
 the bees can enter the hive. 
 
 Knock the second box carefully apart, avoiding 
 splitting the boards, and reduce the two ends to 
 8i in. in height. Cut them to 8f in. and finish off to 
 
 Fig. 11.— Section of Inner Wall. 
 
 8i in. with the plane ; then bevel one edge of each 
 as shown by Fig. 11, leaving a flat about \ in. wide 
 on the edge. After having drawn lines on the in- 
 sides of the hive sides, parallel to and distant from 
 the front and back \\ in., insert the reduced end 
 pieces and carefully nail them so that they rest 
 close upon the hive bottom, and their inside faces 
 coincide with the lines drawn. 
 
 These inner walls (e. Fig. 10) should then be 
 found 14|- in. distant one from the other, and if a 
 standard frame is inserted it should fit without any 
 end-shake, and there should be a parallel space of 
 \ in. between the side bars of the frame and the 
 inner walls of the hive, also a clear space of | in. 
 
2 2 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 below the frame, as indicated by the section of the 
 hive (Fig. 10). 
 
 The bees could now pass in at the entrance and 
 up between the inner and outer walls. To prevent 
 this, three strips of wood, | in. wide and 13| in. long 
 (the pieces cut off the inner walls will provide 
 these), are prepared to fit tightly in the vacant 
 space ; one of these strips (c, Fig. 10) is pushed 
 down at the front until it rests on the floor of 
 the hive and closes up the open space over the en- 
 trance ; the remaining two d d are fixed about \ in. 
 below the top edges of the inner walls e e ; this 
 prevents bees getting down whilst the hives are 
 being manipulated, and allows space enough for 
 the fingers to grip the frame ends. 
 
 Fig. 12.— Box Cut to Fit Two Koofs. 
 
 IE a roof is required — it is desirable to provide 
 one — a half-depth starch box may also be obtained, 
 and cut so that the sides slant from front to back, 
 giving a fall of about half the depth of the box — say 
 2^ in., or thereabouts (Fig. 12 shows how a box 
 may be cut to make two roofs). Nail some of the 
 surplus wood across the top, giving a projection of 
 about 1 in. on all sides, and, after nailing a 
 strengthening piece H inside from front to back, 
 cover the boarding with canvas, calico, felt, lino- 
 leum, sheet zinc, or something that, with paint or 
 other substance, can be made impervious to wet. 
 Even a sheet of stout brown paper will suffice 
 \l both it and the woodwork are previously well 
 coated with thick paint, and the paper is after- 
 wards given two or more coats of paint. 
 
 In order to keep the roof in position on the 
 
Temporary Beehive. 
 
 23 
 
 hive, plinths J must be prepared, from ij in. to 
 2 in. wide, and nailed to the roof, projecting below 
 its bottom edges about | in. If a porch is wanted, 
 cut out two pieces of wood about 6 in. long and 
 slightly less in width than the projection of the 
 alighting board, slope the top ends, and secure 
 them by nailing through the hive front (do this be- 
 fore the inner walls are put in) and up through the 
 alighting board. A cover board 2\ in. wide is to 
 be fixed to the top (sloped) ends to throw water off, 
 and in order that it m^ay fit close to the hive front 
 the back edge should be bevelled off. 
 
 Swarms, also nuclei, sometimes require feeding, 
 so that it is as well to make provision for a feed 
 
 Fig. 13. — Device to Prevent End-shake to the Frames. 
 
 bottle K, as shown in position in Fig. 10, by making 
 the roof deeper. In this case another full-depth 
 starch box might be cut across as shown by Fig. 12, 
 when it would furnish two deep roofs. A coat or 
 two of paint will make the hive more sightly and 
 more durable ; it will also keep it drier, which is a 
 point of great importance in a permanent hive, 
 though not so serious in one of a makeshift charac- 
 ter. 
 
 It may be stated that on more than one occasion 
 bees have had to winter in hives similar to the one 
 illustrated in this chapter, and they have made 
 good headway, though they are liable to be severely 
 checked when breeding is in full swing and adverse 
 weather occurs in April and May. These hives, 
 therefore, cannot be recommended for use as per- 
 
^4 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 manent quarters for bees. Bees wintered in them 
 also make much greater inroads upon their stores 
 than when housed in proper hives. 
 
 Although the particular boxes previously men- 
 tioned are recommended, they being of the correct 
 size without alteration, any other box that is at 
 least 17 in. long and not less than 9 in. in depth 
 will serve. If a box is used that allows more than 
 a very little end-shake to the frames — a defect 
 which could not be tolerated — nail a thin strip of 
 wood L on to the inside of each outer wall as 
 shown by Fig. 13 ; or all the filling-up might, to 
 save trouble, be placed at one end when the extra 
 length is but slight. D E in Fig. 13 agree with d e 
 in Fig. 10. 
 
 No entrance slides are here provided ; when a 
 contraction of the entrance is required, a strip, or 
 strips, of wood laid on the alighting board will 
 answer every purpose. 
 
^s 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 TIERING BAR-FRAME BEEHIVE. 
 
 Tiering hives are used to afford additional accom- 
 modation for brood-raising or honey-storing pur- 
 poses in cases where the brood nest or hive proper 
 is inadequate. They are made by adding extra 
 bodies above the brood nest. 
 
 Beehives are usually made of yellow pine, merely 
 because pine happens to be plentiful in America, 
 and is there used for all common purposes as is 
 deal in this country ; consequently pine is used, 
 not because it is the best w^ood for hives, but be- 
 cause it happens to be cheap. America is the land 
 of bees, honey, and bee keepers, and in that coun- 
 try there are numerous factories exclusively em- 
 ployed, year in, year out, in making beehives and 
 apiarian supplies ; and nearly all the beehives 
 made in England aie imported from America in the 
 flat — that is, the material is planed and sawn to 
 size on the other side of the Atlantic, and arrives 
 here ready to be put together at a cost very little 
 (if any) above the price at which rough-sawn board 
 of similar material can be purchased in England. 
 
 As American winters are so severe, it is the 
 custom above a certain degree of latitude to place 
 the bees in cellars during the cold season — say, 
 from November to March or April — so that hives 
 are seldom exposed to much severe weather, so 
 seldom, in fact, that hive bodies are usually left 
 unpainted. Whilst pine may be employed for the 
 inside parts of English hives, good yellow deal 
 is far preferable for all exposed portions of a bee- 
 hive, and is considerably cheaper to buy than is 
 first or even second quality yellow pine. Even good 
 
26 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances. 
 
 quality spruce will be preferable to pine, but it is 
 somewhat liable to twist as it seasons, and is to 
 that extent an undesirable material. 
 
 Below is a list of material required for the 
 
 
 List 
 
 OF Material 
 
 Eequired for One Hive. 
 
 
 5- ^ 
 
 Net Size in Inches. 
 
 Description. 
 
 rO 
 
 CO 
 
 Length. 
 
 Width. 
 
 Thick' 
 ness. 
 
 
 
 Body Box. 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 in 
 
 11 
 
 ^ 
 
 Sides 
 
 2 
 
 A 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 8| 
 
 h 
 
 Inner walls 
 
 1 
 
 B 
 
 1 
 
 18^: 
 
 lOJ 
 
 1 
 
 Front 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 I85 
 
 11 
 
 t 
 
 Back 
 
 1 
 
 J) 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 li 
 
 i 
 
 Packing 
 
 2 
 
 E 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 J 
 
 4 
 
 Filling 
 
 2 
 
 F 
 
 
 Floor-hoard. 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 20i 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 Bearers 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 15 
 
 i 
 
 Main floor 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 Floor under entrance 
 
 1 
 
 K 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Alighting- board 
 
 1 
 
 L 
 
 2 
 
 2f 
 
 2i 
 
 i 
 
 Packing blocks 
 
 2 
 
 M 
 
 
 Lift. 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 ISf 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 Sides 
 
 2 
 
 isr 
 
 2 
 
 19| 
 
 11 
 
 
 Ends 
 
 2 
 
 p 
 
 2 
 
 m 
 
 h 
 
 t^ 
 
 Fillets 
 
 2 
 
 R 
 
 2 
 
 17f 
 
 \ 
 
 f) 
 
 
 
 
 
 KooA 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 20^ 
 
 4| 
 
 1. 
 
 Gables 
 
 2 
 
 S 
 
 2 
 
 19i 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 Sides 
 
 2 
 
 T 
 
 2 
 
 23i 
 
 11 
 
 J 
 
 Wings 
 
 2 
 
 V 
 
 1 
 
 23i 
 
 4i 
 
 i 
 
 Ridge cover 
 
 2 
 
 W 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 19i 
 ISf 
 
 1 
 "2 
 
 II 
 
 Fillets 
 
 2 
 
 R 
 
 
 Porch. 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 18i 
 
 4 
 
 f 
 
 Back 
 
 1 
 
 PA 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2J 
 
 
 Brackets 
 
 2 
 
 PB 
 
 1 
 
 18,1 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 Distance fillet 
 
 1 
 
 PC 
 
 1 
 
 isl 
 
 3 
 
 h 
 
 Slope 
 
 2 
 
 PD 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 li 
 
 8 
 
 Entrance slides 
 
 2 
 
 PF 
 
Tiering Bar-frame Beehive, 
 
 27 
 
 making of one tiering bar-frame hive, although it 
 will be found very advantageous to make up at 
 least three at the same time, as each hive is then 
 more likely to be exactly like its fellow, and all 
 parts will interchange — a point of no little import- 
 ance when working a number of hives. Material 
 
 Fig. 14. — Tiering Bar-frame Beehive arranged for 
 Summer Use. 
 
 for shallow-frame boxes or section racks is not 
 included herewith, as the making of these and the 
 hive furniture will form the subject of another 
 chapter. 
 
 The quantities of sawn boards to order are : 3 ft. 
 of 11 in. by -| in. (|-in. wrought board will do if 
 sound and not too knotty), 17 ft. of 11 in. by 4 in., 
 10 ft. of 11 in. by | in., and 4 ft. of 2 in. by 1 in. 
 
28 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 slating batten. These sizes allow for slight waste 
 in trimming, but nothing for waste caused by 
 shakes or large knots. It will be presumed that 
 all the material is cut to size and ^aned as in- 
 dicated by the table, and edges and ends squared 
 and shot true. 
 
 An isometric view of the hive arranged for 
 summer use is shown by Fig. 14 ; it consists of 
 floor-board r b, hive-body or brood-nest b n, in- 
 vertible lift i l, roof R r, and detachable porch d p. 
 Fig. 15 is an isometric view of the same hive 
 arranged for winter with the lift inverted, thus 
 forming what is practically a triple-walled hive. 
 This illustration also shows the hive mounted upon 
 a rough stand which is a condensed milk box, in 
 size 19 in. by 13 in. by 7 in. deep, outside measure- 
 ments. These boxes are strong, and answer the 
 purpose capitally ; and if given a coat of hot tar 
 before being put into use, they will last for years. 
 
 The projection in front of the hive is a rough 
 alighting board, the use of which is to keep the 
 space immediately in front of the hive clear, and 
 to prevent tired home-coming bees from being 
 blown upon the ground or grass in front of the 
 hive where, in cold, wet, and windy weather, many 
 are liable to fall to rise no more. These rough 
 alighting boards are from 15 in. to 18 in. (more or 
 less) long, front to back, and in width the width of 
 the floor-board ; they can be made of the roughest 
 material — the rougher the better, as affording a 
 firmer foothold for the bees — secured to the under- 
 side of fillets about 1 in. by | in. in section ; these 
 fillets project about an inch above the boarding so 
 as to rest on the floor-board of the hive. A couple 
 of notches should be cut in the underside of the 
 bottom fillet to allow water to drain off, and the 
 board may be left rough, not painted or coated in 
 any way. 
 
 Fig. 16 is a longitudinal section of the hive 
 shown by Fig. 14, showing two shallow-frame boxes 
 
Tiering Bar-frame Beehive. 29 
 
 above the brood-nest ; and Fig. 17 is a cross section 
 of the arrangement given in Fig. 15, the dotted 
 lines continued upward indicating the arrangement 
 of the hive for summer use, but showing three sec- 
 tion racks above the brood nest instead of the two 
 shallow-frame boxes, as in Fig. 10. As will be seen, 
 
 Fig. 15. — Tiering Bar-frame Beehive arranged for 
 
 Winter Use. 
 
 plenty of room is allowed for winter packing, and 
 accommodation is also provided for a stimulating 
 feeder for spring use, as indicated by dotted lines, 
 above which there is still ample room for warm 
 wraps. 
 
 The hive is suited alike to those who work 
 solely for honey in the comb, and to those who 
 
30 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 extract the surplus for bottling ; and when, even 
 though it is desired to produce comb-honey as the 
 main crop, a shallow-frame box is added early in 
 the season and left on the hive until its close, room 
 
 Fi^ 
 
 16. — Longitudinal Section of Tiering Bar-frame 
 Beehive. 
 
 for two section racks above can still be provided 
 by adding an '' eke '^ of the same dimensions as 
 the lift, but about 3 in. deep, with fillets, Ij in. 
 wide, projecting \ in. below its bottom edge on 
 two sides to keep it in position, as in Fig. 18, which 
 shows the underside of the ^'eke." 
 
Tiering Bar-frame Beehive. 
 
 31 
 
 The hody-box is double-walled back and front, 
 and internally it provides accommodation for ten 
 frames at the regulation spacing (1 /^ in. centre to 
 centre), two spacing slips P s, and two dummies 
 
 Fig". 17. — Cross Section of llering Bar-frame Beehive, 
 
 D s (Fig. 17), by means of which the body-box is 
 practically double-walled at the sides also. 
 
 Beginning with the body-box, take the two sides 
 A and square across from the top edge of each on 
 the inner side a line distant \\ in. from each end; 
 the distance between these (14^ in.) is the internal 
 dimension of the hive, front to back, and allows 
 
32 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 a J-in. space at each end of the frames. Next take 
 the inner walls b, and having bevelled the upper 
 edge of each on the unplaned side (see Fig. 11, 
 p. 21), nail the sides to them, keeping them lower 
 edges \ in. up from the bottom edges of the sides, 
 and making the planed faces coincide exactly with 
 the lines marked thereon, as shown by Fig. 19. 
 
 As the internal dimensions of the hive, front to 
 back, are important, it will be advisable to pre- 
 pare a gauge-stick — a piece of wood about 1 in. by 
 \ in. cut truly to length — with which to keep the 
 
 Fi^. 18.—" Eke" for Increasing Height of Lift. 
 
 inner walls the correct distance apart v/hilst nail- 
 ing ; it is also very important that the inner walls 
 are fixed at right angles to the sides. Measure the 
 distance from the top edges of the sides to the 
 upper edges of the inner walls, and, if all measure- 
 ments do not coincide, make them do so by planing 
 away the sides where they are highest. As shoot- 
 ing the edges of the sides A will have somewhat 
 reduced their width, the front and back boards, 
 c and D, must also be reduced in width to corre- 
 spond, and should have the inner face of each 
 smoothed with the plane for about 2 in. down from 
 
Tiering Bar-frame Beehive. 
 
 33 
 
 the top edge. Deduct y'g^ in. from fhe measurement 
 of the distance from top of side A to top of inner 
 wall B, already taken, and mark the reduced 
 measurement upon the inner face of both front and 
 back from the top, and below these lines attach 
 with brads the packing strips E. Nail front and 
 back to the ends of the sides, with one nail each 
 
 Fig. 19. — Body-box of Tiering Bar-frame Beehive. 
 
 at top and bottom, but do not at present drive them 
 home. 
 
 Now prepare another gauge-stick fully 17 in. long 
 — say 17 3V i^- ^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ gauge will not lie com- 
 fortably across the inner walls and between the 
 outer walls without tightness or end-shake, dis- 
 tances must be adjusted until it will do so. If it 
 is a tight fit, take a shaving or two as requisite of£ 
 the face of each packing strip ; if the fit is loose, 
 one or two thicknesses of stout paper interposed 
 c 
 
34 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 between front or back and the strips may be suf- 
 ficient to adjust matters. Measurements being 
 satisfactory, nail on the boards permanently, keep- 
 ing the front \ in. up from the bottom edges of the 
 sides, as shown by Fig. 19, clean off the ends flush 
 with the sides, and punch in the nail-heads. 
 
 In order to prevent the bees having access to 
 the space between the inner and outer walls, filling 
 strips F should be inserted and secured with brads 
 \ in. below the top edge of each inner wall, and 
 J in. above the bottom edges of inner and outer 
 walls at the front. A similar strip may be fixed 
 at the back if desired, but as the bees cannot gain 
 access to the space from the bottom, its provision 
 is superfluous. The body-box is now finished. Oval 
 wire brads for hive work, those for nailing body- 
 
 Fig. 20. — Tongue-and-groove Joint. 
 
 boxes and lifts to be 2 in. long, are recommended. 
 
 The floor-board will next receive attention. It 
 will be noticed in the table of materials (see p. 26) 
 that the main floor is 15 in. wide, consequently a 
 joint will be necessary ; and as the floor-board will 
 be more or less exposed to the weather, a glued 
 joint will not stand for any length of time. A 
 tongue-and-groove joint, as shown by Fig. 20, is 
 most suitable, but failing the possession of suit- 
 able tools wherewith to work such a joint, a 
 dowelled joint will be the best substitute. 
 
 With a gauge set to half the thickness of the 
 wood, mark a line down the centre of the edge of 
 one of the pieces, and make holes with a bradawl 
 on this line 2 in. to 3 in. apart ; and, having cut 
 the heads off a sufficient number of wire nails, drive 
 them into the holes with the points projecting 
 about \ in. Offer the edge of the second board, 
 
Tiering Bar-frame Beehive. 35 
 
 against the nail points, on a level surface, and make 
 other holes where indicated to receive the points. 
 Coat the edges with thick paint and drive the 
 boards together. Cut the two bearers h to shape as 
 shown by Fig. 21, and, in the sinking cut towards 
 the front, nail the ^^ floor under entrance '^ k, allow- 
 ing it to project (say) 2 in. beyond each bearer. 
 
 Next nail on the ^^ main floor ^' j, allowing it to 
 project over the '^ under ^' floor \ in., and the same 
 distance over the ends of the bearers. Bevel one 
 edge of the alighting board l, nail it in place 
 against the '' under ^' floor, and drive a couple of 
 Ij-in. brads through the face of the alighting board, 
 on the skew, into the edge of the " under ^' floor. 
 
 A reference to Fig. 16 will show that the main 
 floor stops short of the front inner wall of the hive. 
 
 |^2| H^ A % 
 
 14: 
 
 
 X ^^^^ .— : — 1 
 
 
 -== 
 
 ^ ^ ?^=?^ -~ - "^^^^-^i:: 
 
 
 Fig. 21.— Floor Bearer. 
 
 This is to provide a means of ingress and egress 
 for the bees ; but in order to restrict the entrance 
 somewhat, and also to afford a firm base upon which 
 the body-box may stand, a packing block m is fixed 
 on the *^ under '^ floor at each side. Fig. 22 shows 
 the floor-board with one block in position. Bed 
 the blocks in paint, nail them through the " under '' 
 floor, and clinch the nails underneath ; chamfer the 
 front edge of the main floor between the blocks 
 as shown in Figs. 16 and 22, and the floor-board is 
 finished ; but before it is put aside it should be 
 seen that it fits comfortably between the side walls 
 of the body-box, remembering also to make allow- 
 ance for the thickness of several coats of paint. 
 
 The utility of keeping the front of the body-box, 
 also the inner walls, \ in. above the bottom edges 
 of the sides will now be apparent — the sides and 
 
36 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 back drop over the floor-board, breaking the joint, 
 keeping the body-box in place, and rendering the 
 provision of plinths unnecessary. 
 
 Although making the floor as detailed and illus- 
 trated entails a little extra work, the result is worth 
 the pains, as it will be practically an impossibility 
 for wet to drive in on to the main floor ; rain might 
 penetrate to the sunk floor, but it could not pass 
 the barrier raised by the higher back portion, con- 
 sequently the floor would be always dry. Match- 
 boarding might be used for the floor, wrought side 
 
 Fig. 22.— Floor-board. 
 
 downwards, but the presence of so many joints 
 would give the bees a fine opportunity to daub the 
 floor with propolis. 
 
 The lift N scarcely heeds description. It is simply 
 a lidless and bottomless box, in size, internally, J in. 
 larger each way than the outside measurements of 
 the body-box, over which it is required to telescope. 
 Make sure that it is quite square, and put half a 
 dozen 2-in. nails in each joint so that it will stand 
 a fair amount of rough usage. Fix the fillets R \ in. 
 from either the top or bottom of the lift to form a 
 stop upon which it may rest in either position upon 
 
2'iERiNG Bar-frame Beehive, 
 
 37 
 
 the body-box, and also to break joint so as to ex- 
 clude draughts and small vermin. 
 
 To make the roof, nail the gables s to the sides 
 T, after having bevelled the upper edges of the 
 latter to correspond with the slope given to the 
 
 Fig. 23.— Cutting Beehive Roof Gables. 
 
 wings. In cutting out the gables there will be a 
 certain waste of material if one pair only is re- 
 quired ; but where not less than three pairs are cut 
 out at one time, they can be cut from an 11-in. 
 board with very little waste, as shown by Fig. 23, 
 the shaded portions representing the "waste.'' 
 On each side of the centre line of each gable 
 
38 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 draw a line parallel thereto and distant \ in. ; then 
 temporarily tack on the wings v flush with one 
 gable, and with a straightedge draw a line across 
 both gable and wings, as shown by Fig. 24. Then 
 set a bevel to the lines marked, and plane away 
 the top edges of the wings as required. This done, 
 permanently nail the wings in position, allowing 
 them to project \\ in. over each gable. Cut away 
 the point of each gable level with the bevelled edges 
 of the wings, and nail on the cover-board w, first 
 coating its underside, also each bevel, with thick 
 paint. Well nail each joint at 3-in. intervals, and 
 clinch the nails inside, or screw the joints together 
 from the underside ; and if the roof covering is 
 made of seasoned material and is kept painted, no 
 wet will ever find its way inside the hive. 
 
 The rim of the roof should be \ in. larger each 
 w^ay inside than the outer dimensions of the lift, 
 and when the fillets R are tacked on inside, \ in. 
 up from the bottom edge, the roof is finished. 
 
 For the purpose of providing a means of egress 
 to stray bees which may linger round the hive top 
 or surplus boxes after manipulations, and also for 
 use at certain seasons as a super clearer, it is well 
 to fit each roof with a cone, as shown by Fig. 7, 
 p. 17. A 1-in. hole should be bored in the front 
 gable previous to putting the roof together, over 
 which, after the hive is painted, a brass perforated 
 cone, which can be purchased for Ijd., is fixed with 
 brass escutcheon pins or small round-headed screws. 
 
 The utility of a porch p D is, with some, a matter 
 for argument, it being contended that the advan- 
 tage it affords in sheltering the entrance to the hive 
 from rain-storms is quite overshadowed by its dis- 
 advantage at certain times, as, for instance, when 
 hiving a swarm. As the porch of this hive is de- 
 tachable, it is not open to any such objection ; a 
 few turns of a couple of screw-eyes suffice to remove 
 it from the body-box, and a few more turns will 
 refix it, either in its original position or upon the 
 
Tiering Bar-frame Beehive. 
 
 39 
 
 lift when the latter is telescoped over the body- 
 box at the approach of winter. 
 
 Fig. 16 shows the shape of the porch brackets 
 p B which are to be fixed 2 in. in from the ends of 
 the back pa after the top edge of the latter has 
 been bevelled to correspond with the slope of the 
 tops of the brackets. Nail on the distance fillet 
 p c I in. from the bottom edge of the back, and, 
 after bevelling the back edge of the slope so that 
 the top back edge fits close against the hive front 
 when the porch is in position, nail it to both the 
 back and the two brackets, allowing a projection 
 of \ in. over the back edge of the former. A couple 
 of l^-in. screw-eyes — brass wull be preferable — with 
 a washer under the head of each, will provide an 
 
 Beehive Roof Wings. 
 
 easy means of securing the porch, and they should 
 be inserted outside the brackets so as to be easily 
 got at without disturbing the occupants of the hive. 
 
 The entrance-slides p f, with which to contract 
 the entrance formed in the floor-board, are simply 
 pieces of wood rectangular in section with the ends 
 cut square, and having a small screw-eye or round- 
 headed screw inserted in each as a handle to assist 
 in drawing it backward and forward in the recess 
 formed at the back of the porch. When entirely 
 withdrawn, the slides may be placed in the open 
 space behind the back of the porch above the dis- 
 tance fillet. 
 
 Punch in all nail heads, and give the hive at 
 least three coats of some light-coloured paint, stop- 
 ping the nail holes with putty between the first and 
 second coats. Although the inside of the hive need 
 
40 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliance^. 
 
 not be painted, the floor-board should be painted 
 all over ; and it will considerably add to the wear 
 of the hive if all joints are thickly coated with paint 
 before being nailed together. 
 
 It is highly important that measurements be 
 strictly adhered to, especially as regards the in- 
 ternal dimensions of the body-box, its squareness 
 being no less essential. Bees actively resent inter- 
 ference when brace combs have to be torn asunder, 
 or when propolised surfaces part with a " snap '' ; 
 and although accuracy is not so essential in those 
 parts of the hive to which the bees are not allowed 
 access, a properly made and well-fitting hive means 
 comfortable manipulations and few or no stings. 
 
41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE "W.B.C/' BEEHIVE. 
 
 The '^W.B.C.^' hive is a bar-fram?, hive designed 
 by Mr. W. Broughton Carr, and its several parts 
 are shown in the ilhistrations accompanying this 
 chapter. The stand, floor-board, outer case, lift, and 
 roof are shown in their relative positions by Fig. 25, 
 but drawn apart to illustrate their construction 
 better. Fig. 26 shows the interior parts or hive 
 proper — the eke, body-box or brood-chamber, and 
 a shallow frame-box or super. 
 
 The following particulars of the sizes of wood 
 used in making this hive were published by Mr. 
 Carr some years since. The floor-board is 1 ft. 8 in. 
 from front to back, the alighting-board projecting 
 7 in. as shown. The width of the entrance is 1 ft. 
 3| in. by i in. high, and the full width of the floor- 
 board is 1 ft. 6j in., as shown in Fig. 25. The wood 
 of the floor-board is J in. thick (the joints being 
 tongued and grooved), and nailed to battens 2^ in. 
 deep by Ij in. wide, cut as shown. 
 
 The front and back boards of the outer case are 
 I in. thick by 1 ft. 6| in. by 8| in. The side pieces 
 are ^ in. thick by 1 ft. 7J in. by 8| in. The inside 
 measurement of the case when nailed up is 1 ft. 
 5j in. by 1 ft. TJ in. A plinth 1^ in. wide is nailed 
 round the lower edge of the case, and drops i in., 
 as shown in Fig. 27 ; this figure also shows a rebate 
 4 in. by i in. taken out of the strips used for the 
 plinth, to fit the case over the floor-board. 
 
 The construction of the porch, which is nailed 
 to the front of the case, will be best understood 
 from Fig. 25. The roof of the porch is 4^ in. wide, 
 and on the under-side of the lower edge a groove 
 
42 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliance^, 
 
 Fig. 25.— Parts of "W.B.C." Beehive. 
 
The ''W.B.Cy Beehive. 
 
 43 
 
 is cut to turn rainwater off. The entrance can be 
 closed by slides of ^-in. wood, 10 in. long by Ij in. 
 wide, rebated along the top edge to slip under the 
 rebated edge of the guide-piece above the entrance. 
 The lift, which rests on the outer case, is of 
 
 Fig. 26.— Inside of <-W.B.C." Beehive. 
 
 exactly the same construction as the case, but is 
 only 6^ in. deep. 
 
 The roof just slips over the lift or outer case. 
 The front and back pieces are 1 ft. 7| in. long, 3i in. 
 deep at the ends and 5| in. at the centre, to form 
 the ridge, and are of |-in. stuff. The sides are of 
 
44 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 |-in. stuff, 1 ft. 8j in. by 3§ in. The lower inner 
 edge of the side pieces is rebated | in. by | in., so 
 that the roof may rest on the edge of the case 
 below. 
 
 The body-box or brood chamber (Fig. 26) is con- 
 structed to hold ten standard frames, and is 1 ft. 
 2^ in. by 1 ft. 3 in., inside measurement. The front 
 and back pieces are | in. thick, 15j in. long, and 
 8j in. wide, and fit in grooves in the side pieces 
 1 in. from their ends. The side pieces are 1 ft. 5 in. 
 by 9 in., and \ in. thick. From the top corners of 
 
 Fig. 27.— Plinth. 
 
 Fig. 28.— Section of Top Edge of 
 Front and Back of Body-box. 
 
 the side pieces a piece is nicked out to receive 
 strips of wood 1 ft. 4 in. by If in. by \ in., which 
 extend from side to side at the back and front. 
 These strips enclose the top of the bar-frame ends, 
 keeping them in position. A slip 1 ft. 3 in. long 
 and I in. by | in. square is nailed between the 
 strips and the front and back pieces of the box. 
 A strip of zinc, on which the frame ends rest, is 
 nailed on the top edge of the front and back pieces. 
 Fig. 28 is a section across the top front and the 
 back edge of the body-box. The dotted lines show 
 a corner of a frame resting on the zinc strip. 
 
 The shallow frame-box or super, which fits over 
 
The ''W,B.CP Beehive. 
 
 45 
 
 the body-box, is, except that it is 6 in. deep, 
 exactly the same as the body-box. The bar-frames 
 to fit are 5^ in. deep. 
 
 The eke, for winter use only, is 3 in. deep, and 
 goes below the body-box. The four cleats nailed 
 to its top edge, shown in Fig. 26, are to keep it in 
 position under the body-box. The eke is not essen- 
 tial, but is used to raise the body-box to give 
 bottom ventilation when wintering the bees. It 
 can also be placed below the shallow frame-box 
 to bring it to the size of the body-box. 
 
 The stand for the hive is simple in construction, 
 the only difficult part being in marking out the 
 
 Fig. 29.— Marking Out Legs of Stand. 
 
 wood for the legs, which are splayed outwards in 
 the direction of the diagonals of the frame, to which 
 they are fixed. The splay of the legs depends on 
 the depth and thickness of the wood of the frame ; 
 and in order that the outside faces of the legs 
 should meet the bottom edge of the frame corners 
 exactly, the cross section of the legs must have 
 the form of a trapezium. 
 
 Figs. 29 and 30 show how to find the correct 
 angles to which to set a bevel for marking out 
 the shoulders of the legs. From a point A (Fig. 29), 
 draw two lines A b and A c at right angles to each 
 other, making them equal or proportional to the 
 thickness of the wood of the stand frame — that ia 
 
46 Beehives AND Bee Keepers^ Appliances. 
 
 j in. 
 
 Join B c, and from the point c draw the line 
 C D at right angles to B c, making c d equal or 
 proportional to the depth of the frame — that is 
 
 Fig. 30.— Marking Out Legs of Stand. 
 
 2J in. Then join B d, and on the line B c take from 
 the point c a distance c E equal to A c and join e d. 
 With B as centre and A b as radius describe a circle, 
 and with d as centre and d e as radius describe the 
 arc e f cutting the circle at the point f. ' Join b f, 
 and produce d b in the direction G, then the angle 
 F B G is the angle for the bevel. With the sizes 
 given this angle is about 106^. 
 
 The angle for the outside faces of the leg is 
 
 Fig. 31. — Cutting Shoulders of Legs of Stand. 
 
 found as in Fig. 30. Draw two straight lines A b 
 and A c at right angles to each other, making them 
 equal to twice the thickness of the wood of the 
 
The ''W.B.C:' Beehive. 
 
 47 
 
 frame^that is 1^ in. Complete the square A b d c, 
 and draw the diagonals. Set off from the point of 
 intersection E a distance e f equal to the perpen- 
 dicular CH (Fig. 29), and join CF and F B. The 
 angle c F b, about 95^, is the angle to which two 
 adjacent faces of the wood from which the legs 
 
 Fig. 32. Fig. 38. 
 
 Figs. 32 and 33.— Cross Sections of Stand Legs 
 
 are to be cut should be dressed before the shoulders 
 are marked on them. Fig. 31 shows the marking 
 out of the shoulder end upon the wood. Fig. 32 
 is a cross section, and Fig. 33 a section after cut- 
 ting along the lines a b and B c (Fig. 30). 
 
48 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FURNISHING AND STOCKING A BEEHIVE. 
 
 Being in possession of a hive, the bee keeper must 
 turn his thoughts towards the furnishing of it 
 suitably for the habitation of the bees. True, if 
 given the empty hive, the bees will themselves pro- 
 ceed to furnish it, but most probably in a style 
 quite at variance with the ideas of modern bee 
 keepers. 
 
 In a bar-frame or movable-comb hive, it is of 
 great importance that each comb should be built 
 
 -17^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 7"V3''' 
 
 '^^\ 
 
 -13 i 
 
 ^»!^H 
 
 -14- 
 
 Fig. 34.— B.B.K.A. Standard Frame. 
 
 quite straight in its frame, and that each frame 
 should be truly square and in fit condition for being 
 lifted from the hive without tearing asunder any 
 attachment either to another comb or to the hive 
 walls ; and this condition can be secured only by 
 correct initial management. It is an old truism 
 that " bees do nothing invariably '^ ; but as a 
 general rule, if they are properly started in the way 
 they should go, they will not make any serious 
 departure from it. 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive, 49 
 
 In furnishing a beehive, the first requisite is a 
 set of frames, each of which will eventually contain 
 a comb. The ^^ standard '^ frame of the British 
 Bee Keepers' Association is illustrated by Fig. 34, 
 and described on p. 10, and if the measurements 
 there given are adhered to, the pattern of the 
 
 Fig-. 35. — Broad-shouldered 
 Frame. 
 
 Fig. 36.— Abbot's Broad- 
 shouldered Frame. 
 
 frames does not much matter ; it will vary accord- 
 ing to the method employed of spacing the frames 
 in the hive. Bees in a natural state build their 
 combs from Ij in. to \\ in. apart centre to centre, 
 and the spacing usually adopted in placing frames 
 is 1 2^(3 in. centre to centre, ten frames occupying a 
 width of 14j in. 
 
 Frames may be roughly divided into two classes : 
 
 D 
 
c;o Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 broad-shouldered, which are self-spacing ; and 
 shoulderless, which require some mechanical con- 
 trivance to ensure correct spacing. The latter is 
 the class most commonly employed, although a 
 considerable number of apiarists still hold to the 
 broad-shouldered frame, sometimes called the 
 
 Fig. 37. Fig. 38. 
 
 Figs. 87 and 38.— Plain Frames with "W.B.C." 
 Ends, Ordinary and Narrow Spacing. 
 
 " Abbot '' frame. Figs. 35 and 36 illustrate in plan 
 different forms of broad-shouldered frames. Fig. 36 
 being the " Abbot '' pattern ; and Fig. 37 illus- 
 trates, also in plan, a shoulderless frame fitted 
 with ''W.B.C' metal ends. Fig. 38 illustrates a 
 variation in the working of the "W.B.C' end 
 which wall be referred to later. 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive, 51 
 
 A plain, shoulderless frame, such as has been 
 previously referred to as the B.B.K. A. " standard " 
 frame, consists merely of the separate pieces of 
 wood sawn or planed to the correct dimensions and 
 squarely nailed together, and for this purpose — as 
 a time saver — a frame block is a convenience upon 
 which the separate pieces composing the frame are 
 laid and held in position whilst they are nailed. 
 Ten such frames (Fig. 39) are required for the hive 
 shown by Figs. 1 and 2, pp. 12 and 13. It is very 
 important that they should be of standard size, 
 with the top bar A 1 ft. 5 in. by | in. by | in., the 
 length over the uprights 1 ft. 2 in., and the depth 
 
 Fig. 39.— Wired Bar Frame. 
 
 over all 8^ in. The bottom and side bars vary in 
 thickness w4th different manufacturers, but J in. 
 for the uprights and -f^ in. for the bottom bar, 
 especially where the foundation is fixed by wiring, 
 are to be preferred. 
 
 Materials for the bar frames, ready for nailing 
 together, can be obtained from dealers, who also 
 supply blocks for keeping the frames square while 
 being nailed, but many bee keepers put the 
 frames together without the blocks. 
 
 In working for extracted honey, shallow frames 
 are now generally used. These have 1-ft. 5-in. top 
 bars, and are 1 ft. 2 in. over the uprights, but the 
 total depth is reduced to 5j in. 
 
52 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Applmnces. 
 
 However, the shoulderless frames in most 
 general use are those of the American pattern, the 
 joints in which are shown by Fig. 40 ; all these 
 joints are accurately cut by machinery, and a frame 
 block is not necessary for making them up. Frames 
 cost so little that it does not pay to make them, 
 except in quantity, and then only when a circular 
 
 -\ 
 
 in 
 
 Kin 
 
 Fig. 41. — Securing Side 
 Bars of Frame to Top 
 Bar. 
 
 Fig. 40. — American Jointed Frame. 
 
 saw is available, and material that would otherwise 
 be wasted can be used up. 
 
 These observations as to the home-making of 
 frames apply with still greater force to broad- 
 shouldered frames. Fig. 40 clearly shows how the 
 parts of the frame fit together. Lay the top bar 
 en the bench or table, force the tenons of the side 
 bars into the mortises cut in the top bar, drive on 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive, 53 
 
 the bottom bar, and after seeing that the side bars 
 are square with each other, drive a fine wire nail 
 through the tenon of the side bar into the top bar ; 
 one at each end on opposite sides will suffice (see 
 Fig. 41). 
 
 Abbot's broad-shouldered frames are also made 
 
 Fig. 43.— Frame Wired to 
 receive Foundation. 
 
 with mortise and tenon joints, but the mortises 
 are cut centrally in the top bar. 
 
 To induce the bees to build combs in the bar 
 frames instead of across them, it is necessary to 
 use sheets of foundation wax, which are impressed 
 with the bases of the comb cells. For the brood 
 chamber these run about six or seven sheets to the 
 pound, but thinner foundations are used in the 
 sections, and by some in the shallow bar frames. 
 
54 
 
 Beehives AND Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 Some bee keepers use just a narrow strip of founda- 
 tion fixed to the top bar of the frames, but it is 
 far better and cheaper in the end to use a full sheet 
 for each frame. When it is desired that the comb 
 shall be wholly or in greater part built of cells 
 /' worker '^ size, it is advisable to use sheets of 
 foundation large enough to fill almost entirely each 
 frame. 
 
 Several methods of fixing foundations in frames 
 are employed, the most common and the most ob- 
 jectionable plan being to insert the sheet of wax 
 in a saw kerf cut in the centre of the top bar, as 
 shown in Figs. 39 and 40. Reference was made to 
 the weakness of the Association " standard '' top 
 
 . 
 
 -^^ — i 
 
 , '^ ■ — ■ — 
 
 r — - 
 
 
 — i- 
 
 r 
 
 f 
 
 ^^ 
 
 '' 
 
 - 
 
 .. ^-^^~~ 
 
 
 - - 
 
 — n-^ 
 
 L^r^ 
 
 J^ - 
 
 
 
 =^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 
 
 - Jr- 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 ;;^7-- 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 Fig:. 44. — Block for Wirings Frame. 
 
 bar (I in.) ; to put a saw kerf through it weakens it 
 still further, and the cavity thus formed affords a 
 hiding place for the larvse of the wax moth — an 
 insect which proves very destructive when it once 
 gets possession of a comb. Fig. 42 represents a 
 much preferable plan adopted by Abbot Bros. Two 
 parallel grooves are cut on the underside of the 
 top bar, the foundation F being placed in the nar- 
 rower one ; the wedge w is then driven tightly into 
 the broader groove, by which means the wax sheet 
 is very firmly secured. 
 
 When a solid top bar is employed, the sheet of 
 wax may be fixed by running molten wax along at 
 the junction of wood and foundation, and if this 
 is done on each side of the sheet, and the wax is 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive. 55 
 
 of the proper heat, a good joint will result. But 
 a much more satisfactory plan of fixing full-sized 
 sheets of foundation is to wire them as explained 
 below. 
 
 A trellis of wire is secured to the frame, and 
 these wires are heated and embedded into the wax 
 itself so that the foundation cannot give way in 
 the hive — an accident that no other method is proof 
 against. Each apiarist usually has his own method 
 of wiring frames ; but that illustrated by Fig. 43 is 
 general. Before making-up the frames, run a 
 gauge mark down the centre of each top and bottom 
 bar ; then upon this gauge line, and at distances 
 marked on Fig. 43, bore holes through with a fine 
 
 Fig. '45. — Gauf^e-board. 
 
 bradawl ; also drive in a J-in. tack between one end 
 pair of holes in the bottom of each bottom bar. 
 After the frames are made up, thread some No. 30 
 tinned iron wire through the holes in rotation by 
 the figures and in the direction indicated by the 
 arrows, commencing at No. 1 and finishing at No. 8. 
 Now fix the free end of the wire from hole No. 8 
 by giving it a twist or two round the tack at T, then, 
 working backward, tighten the loop between 7 and 
 6, then between 5 and 4, 3 and 2, and finally pass 
 the wire two or three times round the tack t, ham- 
 mer the tack home, and cut off the surplus wire. 
 If properly done, the wires, when touched, should 
 emit a dull musical note, and neither top nor 
 bottom bars should be strained out of parallelism. 
 
56 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliance^. 
 
 Another method of wiring a frame is as follows : 
 Prepare a block (Fig. 44) that will just fit loosely 
 inside the frame (Fig. 44 is drawn to agree with 
 Fig. 39). This may be about | in. thick, and should 
 have four lines marked on it as shown. This block 
 is dropped into the frame, and the positions where 
 the lines intersect marked on the top and bottom 
 bars. Holes are bored with a fine bradawl through 
 
 Fig. 46.— Woiblet Spur Embedder. 
 
 the top and bottom bars where marked in Fig. 39 
 at B, c, D, etc., those in the top bar being bored on 
 the slant to miss the groove for the foundation. A 
 length of wire is then taken from the reel, and a 
 small loop B twisted at one end, and the opposite 
 end passed up through the hole b, down through 
 c and D, up through e and f, down through G and H, 
 up through I, when it is put through the loop, 
 pulled fairly tight, cut to length, and secured by 
 twisting as shown at J. 
 
 For fixing the foundation to the wires, and also 
 when the wax sheet is secured to the top bar by 
 
 Fig. 47.— Wheel of Woiblet Spur Embedder. 
 
 the smelting process, a guide-board (Fig. 45) is 
 required. This is a piece of |-in. wood, in size \ in, 
 less each way than the inside measurement of the 
 frames, and to its underside two fillets are fixed 
 crosswise, as shown, of a size so that they project 
 at least \ in. on each side. Upon this guide-board 
 lay a sheet of foundation, and above this lay the 
 wired frame. Then a tool called an embedder 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive. 57 
 
 (Fig. 46) is heated sufficiently to melt beeswax, -and 
 run along over the wires, and as the wax melts the 
 wires are pressed into the sheet, into which they 
 are j&rmly embedded when the wax again cools. 
 
 
 0= 
 
 Fig. 48. — Spur Embedder with Wooden Handle. 
 
 The wheel of the embedder is heated to a black 
 heat in a gas flame or fire ; do not press the wire 
 right through the wax. 
 
 The favourite tool for embedding is the Woiblet 
 spur embedder, and Figs. 46 and 47 show in side 
 elevation and in part plan, respectively, a home- 
 made tool upon this principle. The wheel, cut from 
 sheet brass, is \ in. in diameter and J in. thick, 
 and the wire handle is of J-in. iron wire ; a wooden 
 handle instead of the wire loop would be an im- 
 provement (see Fig. 48). 
 
 A simpler embedder (Fig. 49) can be made in a 
 
 Embedder made with Floor Brad. 
 
 few minutes from a ?>\-m. or 4-in. floor brad ; two 
 are useful, as one can be heating whilst the other 
 is in use. An expert has had in use for several 
 years a couple of these homely contrivances, which 
 
58 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliance^, 
 
 are as effective as more costly appliances. Take a 
 floor brad (a cut nail will do), and placing it be- 
 tween two pieces of deal, about 4 in. long, 1 in. 
 wide, and \ in. thick, give the two a good squeeze 
 in the bench vice to embed the nail in the wood. 
 After removal, bind the nail end of the handle with 
 two or three turns of copper wire and secure the 
 wire ferrule with a touch of solder ; then put a 
 J-in. screw into the other end of the handle. Eound 
 off the point of the nail on one side, as shown by 
 
 Fig". 50. — Hoffman Self-spacing Frame. 
 
 Fig. 49, and after filing away the point until it is 
 about yig^ in. thick, file a nick or V-groove in the 
 rounded face, and the embedder is complete. The 
 nick or groove is for the purpose of keeping the 
 tool on the wire when in use. 
 
 The foundation having been fixed, and the 
 frames being ready to be placed in the hive, the 
 question of side spacing comes under consideration, 
 that is, the keeping of the frames of comb the cor- 
 rect distance apart. As previously mentioned, 
 frames are spaced laterally in the hive 1-2% in. (li in. 
 bare) centre to centre, and whilst this spacing can 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive. 59 
 
 be accomplished by marking the end of each frame 
 at its centre, and placing these marks opposite 
 similar marks made on the hive side, the heat of 
 the hive is not conserved, as is the case when broad- 
 shouldered frames or distance keepers are em- 
 ployed. 
 
 In America, and also, to some extent, in this 
 country, a self-spacing frame, known as the '' Hoff- 
 man,^' is very largely used ; but in districts where 
 propolis is abundant the bees glue the frames 
 together to such an extent as to render a frame of 
 this type a nuisance. Fig. 50 shows, in isometrical 
 projection, a portion of two such frames. It may 
 be said that the side bars are 1^"^ in. wide at the 
 
 Fig. 51. -" W.B.C." Fig. 52.— Cast 
 
 Tinplate End. Metal End. 
 
 top, and that the wide part on one side is reduced 
 to a knife edge. 
 
 Broad-shouldered frames being self-spacing, the 
 plain frames are the only ones that require the 
 addition of metal distance keepers, technically 
 known as ^' ends.'^ Priority of place must be given 
 to the '^W.B.C.^' end, the invention of Mr. W. 
 Broughton Carr. It is shown by Fig. 51, and is 
 stamped out of a single piece of tinplate and 
 pressed into shape by dies. Fig. 37 (p. 50) shows 
 how these ends are used when the regulation l/o-in. 
 spacing is adopted ; Fig. 38 (p. 50) shows how the 
 ends are placed on the frames when l^-in. spacing 
 is required ; Fig. 52 shows a cast metal end some- 
 what largely used; Fig. 53 shows the " Howard '^ 
 end, made of tinplate ; and Fig. 54 shows Dr. Pine's 
 
6o Beehives and Bee Keepers* Appliances. 
 
 cast metal end. There are probably more 
 "W.B.C/' ends used than all the others put 
 together ; they are made both for |-in. and \-m, top 
 bars, and a special wide end is also made — for |-in. 
 top bars only — for fitting to extracting combs, 
 eight of the wide ends occupying the space of ten 
 of the ordinary pattern. They can be obtained in 
 two widths, l\ in. bare for the brood chamber and 
 Ij in. for the shallow-frame supers. When using 
 l|-in. ends in the supers it is a good plan to use 
 " drone '^ foundation. 
 
 Whilst upon the subject of spacing frames, men- 
 tion may also be made of end spacing. If hives 
 are made according to instructions given in 
 
 Fig. 53.— Howard Fig. 54.— Pine's Cast 
 
 Tinplate End. Metal End. 
 
 Chapters II. and III., end-spacing appliances are 
 not necessary, as the top bars being cut accurately 
 to length, make a perfect fit with the hives, and no 
 end-shake will be possible. But in roughly made 
 hives some means to counteract any inaccuracy in 
 construction will be necessary, and it will be noticed 
 in Figs. 52 and 54 that each end also has an angular 
 spur on the underside, the spur allowing the regu- 
 lation i-in. spacing between the hive wall and the 
 frame end. 
 
 For use with the ends illustrated by Figs. 51 and 
 53, and also with the Hoffman self-spacing frames 
 (Fig. 50), a method of end spacing is shown in Fig. 
 55, a small staple being driven in each side bar 
 under the lug so as to project J in. The same plan 
 is adopted for bottom spacing, as shown in the 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive, 6i 
 
 same figure, this provision being made for the pur- 
 pose of ensuring that bees— the queen especially— 
 shall not be injured by being squeezed between the 
 hive side and the frame when the combs are being 
 withdrawn or replaced. 
 
 As bees build their combs about an inch in thick- 
 ness, there is, nominally, a space of \ in. between 
 the faces of capped brood on two adjacent combs. 
 As the outside face of each outside comb only gets, 
 under ordinary circumstances, half of this working 
 space, two plain strips of wood (see p s, Fig. 17, 
 
 Fig. 55. — Staples used as End Spacers. 
 
 p. 31) I in. by i in. in section are used in order to 
 increase the distance between each outer comb and 
 the hive side or the " dummy '^ (d s, same refer- 
 ence). 
 
 A dummy is a cleated or clamped board which 
 fits the inside of the hive, and has a top bar, by 
 means of which it can be suspended in the same 
 way as a frame. Its use is to contract the brood 
 nest when it is desired to give the bees a lesser 
 number of frames than the hive provides accom- 
 modation for ; and in the hive described in Chap- 
 ter III. a pair of cleated dummies is used to make 
 
62 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances. 
 
 the hive double-walled at the sides when ten or a 
 lesser number of frames are in use. The sizes 
 figured on Fig. 56 are for the above-mentioned hive, 
 although dummies of this size will be equally ser- 
 viceable in any other hive made to take " standard ^' 
 frames, as long as the thickness is not greater than 
 accommodation can be found for. Fig. 57 shows 
 
 Fig. b^. — Back View of Dummy. 
 
 this dummy in part section, and by the dimensions 
 given in Figs. 56 and 57 it will be seen that its total 
 thickness is 1 in. ; consequently ten frames (14j in.), 
 two spacing slips (i in.), and two dummies (2 in.) 
 exf^ctly occupy the space provided in the hive de- 
 scribed in Chapter III. — namely 17 in. The dummy 
 should be an easy fit inside the hive, and its dimen- 
 sions should be 14^ in. (bare) long and 8^ in. (bare) 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive. 63 
 
 deep under the top bar. The illustrations supply 
 other measurements. 
 
 A still simpler dummy is shown by Fig. 58. This 
 is a solidjrame, and (to fit the hive described in 
 Chapter I.) may be cut from a piece of |-in. pine, 
 
 Fig". 57. — Section of 
 Dummy. 
 
 Fig. 58. — Simple Form of Dummy, 
 
 1 ft. 5 in. long by 8f in. wide, if it is to prevent bees 
 getting behind the dummy, although some bee 
 keepers prefer to have the dummy with a |-in. space 
 underneath, to allow the bees to return to the nest 
 if they should get into the top or behind the dummy 
 when the hive is examined, and for this reason 
 make it 8j in. wide. It is a good plan either to 
 
 ^ ^, ^> v_-^ -, -^ -^ 
 
 Fig. 69.— Old Style of Queen Excluder. 
 
 clamp the ends, or to secure ledges A across the 
 grain of the dummy to prevent warping. 
 
 To prevent the queen bee getting up into the 
 sections, excluder zinc, which is pierced with slots 
 through which only the workers can pass, is used 
 
64 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 over the brood nest. This can be obtained in 
 sheets 16 in. square, and is best laid over the 
 frames without being fitted into a light wooden 
 frame as used to be the custom. (This old style 
 is shown by Fig. 59.) 
 
 Quilts are necessary for covering the frames, 
 
 Fi^. 60.— Section with Foundation. 
 
 and for this nothing is better than a square piece 
 of American cloth of good thickness laid on with 
 the painted side downwards. Sheets of celluloid 
 can be obtained for the purpose, through which the 
 bees can be seen at work ; they are very good, but 
 rather expensive. Over the first quilt a number 
 of thicknesses of carpet or sacking of some kind 
 should be placed to keep up the warmth of the 
 hive, and for this woollen material is the best, but 
 it harbours moths, and for this reason sacking or 
 cotton material is often preferred. 
 
 Fig. 61.— Section before Folding". 
 
 For marketing honey in the comb, sections 
 (Fig. 60) are used. These are wooden boxes, gener- 
 ally 4j in. by 4^ in. by 2 in., made of thin bass-wood, 
 and they each hold just a pound of comb honey. 
 Larger sizes can be obtained. The wood for mak- 
 ing them ready prepared can be bought in gross 
 
Furnishing aatd Stocking a Beehive, 65 
 
 lots for about 2s. 6d. The pieces are V-jointed, 
 as shown by Fig. 61, and the ends are machined to 
 fit together when the box is folded over. The top 
 side has a saw kerf run in it, which is used for the 
 insertion of the comb foundation, a triangular piece 
 of which is generally employed as shown in Fig. 60. 
 
 Fig. 62. — Cross Section of Crate. 
 
 If the wood is very dry, the joints should be damped 
 before folding the sections together, and twenty- 
 one of these sections are packed into a crate, which 
 is shown in section by Figs. 62 and 63. 
 
 To make a crate (see Figs. 62 and 63), two pieces 
 of |-in. deal 1 ft. 0| in. by 4^ in., and two 1 ft. 3| in. 
 by 4i in., are nailed together to form a bottomless 
 box. This is divided into three equal spaces, 
 lengthways, by metal bars (Fig. 64) placed as shown 
 at A (Fig. 62). These can be obtained from dealers, 
 
 1 
 
 C Q 
 
 Fig. 63.— Longitudinal Section of Crate. 
 
 Fig. 64. — Sec- 
 tion of Metal 
 Bar. 
 
 and are fixed by driving into a fine saw kerf. Two 
 strips B, each 1 ft. 3| in. by Ij in. by | in., are then 
 nailed on the bottom of the crate lengthways, and 
 two pieces c (Fig. 63), 1 ft. 0| in. by | in. by | in., 
 between them across the ends. The crate is then 
 filled with the sections, one of which is shown in 
 
 £ 
 
66 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 position at d, but if good results are expected, zinc 
 or wood dividers (Fig. 65) should be placed between 
 the sections, six being used in each crate. 
 
 When the sections are placed in the crate, a 
 follower E (Fig. 63) is required to keep them in 
 position. This consists of a piece of |-in. deal 
 1 ft. Of in. long by 4$ in. wide, placed in the posi- 
 tion shown and forced against the sections by 
 means of a spring, slipped in at f, or a cork cut to 
 length will serve the purpose. A couple of blocks 
 G (Fig. 62) are nailed on at the ends for lifting the 
 crate off the hive. 
 
 The following information on stocking a hive 
 is of general application, but also refers particu- 
 
 Fig. 65. -Section Divider. 
 
 larly to the simple hive described in Chapter I., 
 and illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 (pp. 12 and 13) : — 
 
 First fill the lower portion of the hive, or body 
 box, with full sheets of brood foundation wired 
 into the frames. Eight or nine frames will be 
 required if stocking with driven bees during the 
 autumn. About 5 lb. of driven bees, costing about 
 6s. 6d., will be necessary. If possible, obtain the 
 bees from a dealer in direct railway communica- 
 tion, or delay or knocking about will have killed 
 them before they arrive. Shake them out of the 
 box on to the frames, and cover with a piece of 
 American cloth, in the centre of which a hole is 
 cut. 
 
 Previous to the arrival of the bees, have pre- 
 pared a quantity of feeding syrup made by boiling 
 4 lb. of sugar in a quart of water, to which a 
 
Furnishing and Stocking a Beehive, 67 
 
 dessert spoonful of salt and the same quantity of 
 vinegar have been added. Stir the syrup whilst 
 on the fire, and do not let it burn. Boil for three 
 or four minutes. Place the syrup in a large glass 
 jar, tie a piece of open textured calico over the 
 mouth, and invert it over the hole in the quilt on 
 the frames, when the bees will suck it down. 
 When the jar is empty, slide a piece of tin under- 
 neath, or smoke the bees down, and take it off, 
 refill, and replace. From 20 lb. to 25 lb. of syrup 
 must be fed to the bees to enable them to live 
 through the winter, and all feeding must be com- 
 pleted by the end of September. When the feed- 
 ing is finished, remove the frames not covered by 
 bees, close up the dummy to the side of the 
 frames, and cover up warmly till the spring. 
 
 Another method of stocking is to buy in the 
 spring a straw hive containing a good stock of 
 bees ; place this on the top of the frames, of which 
 ten should be used, all filled with full sheets of 
 foundation. Close all openings at the top to 
 make the bees work through the proper hive en- 
 trance, and by the autumn the bees will have 
 transferred the breeding place to the frames, and 
 the straw skep filled with honey can be removed. 
 Still another method is to purchase a strong swarm 
 of bees in May, but in this case honey is seldom 
 taken the first year. 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTEE YI. 
 
 OBSERVATORY BEEHIVE FOR PERMANENT USB. 
 
 There are two kinds of observatory beehives. The 
 hive seen at flower shows, in which from one to 
 three frames of comb with bees are placed for a 
 few days on exhibition, is not suitable as a per- 
 manent home for the bees, as sufficient heat cannot 
 be maintained by them to hatch eggs and rear 
 brood except under very favourable conditions. 
 This form of hive is fully described in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 The observatory hive forming the subject of this 
 chapter is a permanent home for the bees, special 
 provision being made for wintering, and tiering up 
 in the summer for gathering surplus honey. Ten 
 standard frames are used in the brood chamber, 
 and at the sides are flaps which may be opened so 
 that the bees may be observed through glass frames 
 in the inner shell of the hive. The outer flaps must 
 be kept closed except when the bees are examined, 
 or, having great objections to light, they will cover 
 the glass with propolis ; it is a good plan to place 
 a cushion of some thick material between the flaps 
 and the glass, especially in winter. 
 
 To make the observatory hive, first prepare 
 pieces of red deal for the stand. Two side-pieces A 
 (Fig. 66), 2 ft. 3 in. long by 2j in. by Ij in., and two 
 cross-pieces B and c, 1 ft. 5j in. long by 2^ in. by 
 Ij in., will be required. Bevel off the front for the 
 alighting board as shown, and mortise the cross- 
 pieces into the sides. 
 
 For the floor-board, prepare a piece of pine 1 ft. 
 6i in. by 1 ft. 6i in. by I in. thick, and in this sink 
 a recess 12 in. wide by | in. deep and sloping up 
 
Observatory Beehive for Permanent Use, 69 
 
 to about the centre of the hive as shown at d. The 
 floor-board may be nailed to the cross and side 
 pieces. Nail the alighting-board E to the sloping 
 
 Fig. 66. — Vertical Section through Observatory Beehive. 
 
 front of the side-pieces, taking care that the top 
 comes level with the bottom of the recess in the 
 floor-board. 
 
 The brood chamber is a plain bottomless box 
 of |-in. deal, 1 ft. 5 in. by 1 ft. 4| in. inside and 
 
70 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 barely 9 in. deep. On each of its four sides a 
 square hole is cut as f for the reception of the in- 
 spection flaps, a bevelled rebate being prepared at 
 
 Fig. G7. — Half Cross Section and Half Back Elevation of 
 Observatory Beehive. 
 
 the bottom of each to form a stop and keep out 
 the wet, as shown in Figs. 66 to 68. Across the- 
 front and back two frames G (Fig. 66) with glass. 
 are fixed so as to leave a distance of 1 ft. 2^ in- 
 
Observatory Beehive FOR Permanent Use. 71 
 
 between them. The frames should be fixed flush 
 with the bottom of the box and | in. below^ the top. 
 Fillets should be nailed between these and the outer 
 
 Fig. 68. — Front Elevation of Observatory Beehive. 
 
 case, the bottom ones being flush and the top ones 
 I in. down (see Fig. 66). On the bottom of the back 
 and sides a 2i-in. by ^-in. plinth H (Figs. 66 to 68) 
 is nailed to keep the wet from getting under the 
 floor. 
 
72 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 A porch at the front of the hive to protect the 
 bees when returning home in wet weather, and 
 sliding shutters to regulate the size of the opening, 
 the construction of which will be clear from Figs. 
 B6 and 68, are shown. The porch should be fixed 
 ivith screws so that it can be lowered in the winter 
 and raised in the summer. The side flaps F should 
 be clamped and attached by means of brass butt- 
 hinges, and fastened at the bottom with small flush 
 bolts ; or turn-buttons may be used if preferred. 
 
 Over the brood chamber a lift J is shown. This 
 consists of a bottomless box made of 9-in. by J-in. 
 stuff, the inside dimensions being equal to the out- 
 side of the brood nest. The sides of this and the 
 brood nest may be dovetailed together or lapped, 
 or butt-jointed and nailed. It is a good plan to 
 paint well all joints before putting them together. 
 Three-eighths of an inch from the bottom of the lift 
 a 1-in. by J-in. strip is nailed on all round (see Fig. 
 66). In the summer the lift is used as shown in the 
 illustrations, but in the winter it may be turned 
 upside down to cover the flaps and keep out the 
 wet. A further lift may be used in the summer 
 if required for working for extracted honey, 
 but it should be made with a plinth the same as 
 the roof. 
 
 The construction of the roof will be clear on 
 reference to the illustrations. A pair of cone bee- 
 escapes are fitted in the front to allow any bees that 
 may get from under the quilt to escape. It is ad- 
 visable to cover the roof with sheet zinc. 
 
 The interior fittings are shown in the sections 
 (Figs. 66 and 67). In the brood chamber are ten 
 frames of comb with W.B.C. ends. On each side 
 of the set of frames dummies filled with glass are 
 used, so that when the side flaps are open the combs 
 can be seen. A section of one of the dummies is 
 shown at the left of the frames in Fig. 67. In the 
 winter two or more of the frames may be taken 
 out and the dummies moved closer to the centre of 
 
Observatory Beehive I^or Permanent Use. 73 
 
 the hive and the space outside filled with some 
 warm material. 
 
 The super over the brood chamber is made to 
 take eight broad-shouldered frames or ten ordinary 
 shallow frames. It consists of a box 14j in. by 
 15 in. by 6 in. deep, of ^-in. deal. The ends are 
 I in. shallower than the sides at the top (Fig. 66), 
 to allow for the shoulders of the frames, which are 
 kept in position by a strip of wood nailed on out- 
 side, on which is tacked a piece of tin brought up 
 flush with the top of the frames. 
 
 For the quilt covering the frames a piece of 
 American cloth should be used with the glazed side 
 downwards, or a transparent celluloid quilt through 
 which the bees can be seen at work may be used 
 if preferred. Over this a piece of carpet or any 
 thick, warm material such as sacking should be 
 placed. Woollen material of any kind is not re- 
 commended for quilts, as it harbours moths, the 
 warmth of the hive proving very attractive to these 
 insects (see p. 64). 
 
74 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OBSERVATOEY BEEHIVE FOR TEMPORARY USE. 
 
 The leading features of unicomb or observatory 
 hives for temporary use are the same, the differ- 
 ences being in the details of construction and mode 
 of setting up. Indeed, all that is required is a case 
 glazed on opposite sides, within which a single 
 cake of comb can be suspended in such a manner 
 as to allow no greater distance from the glass than 
 is sufficient to allow the bees to cover the comb 
 on both sides. This distance may be taken as about 
 2|- in. ; a little less might be allowed without in- 
 convenience, provided selected combs, perfectly flat 
 and even in thickness, are used. 
 
 The width and depth of the case will depend on 
 requirements, and as it is best to stock an observa- 
 tory hive with frames containing comb from a 
 colony already established in a bar-frame hive, the 
 dimensions must be adapted to the size and number 
 of frames it is proposed to use. The smallest size 
 will be that suited to a single standard frame 14 in. 
 by 8i in., but it is more common to have these ob- 
 servatory hives to hold two, three, four, or six 
 frames. 
 
 The observatory hive, illustrated by Fig. 69, is 
 to hold three frames of the size above mentioned, 
 but to show its construction better, only the cen- 
 tral frame is drawn in position. Fig. 70 is a vertical 
 cross section. Fig. 71 a horizontal section, and Fig 
 72 a sectional plan of the top. 
 
 Mahogany or pine is a suitable wood for making 
 the hive, or both may be used. The internal frame 
 A (Fig. 69) chiefly determines the sizes of the other 
 parts of the hive, and for this reason it should be 
 
Observatory Beehive for Temporary Use. 75 
 
 made first. This frame is shown in detail, with 
 dimensions, by Fig. 73. The internal dimensions 
 should be exactly followed, but the frame should 
 
 if 
 
 mill 
 
 Fig-. 69. — Observatory Beehive for Temporal y Use, 
 
 l)e left a trifle full outside in order to facilitate the 
 fitting to the case into which it is inserted, by 
 taking shavings from each of the sides until an 
 exact fit is obtained. 
 
76 Beehives and Bee Keepers'* Appliances. 
 
 The thickness of the frame should be 1| in. if 
 the glass windows are fitted as shown by b (Figs. 
 69 to 71) ; but if the glass is to be fixed by a bead 
 or strips of wood against the frame A, an increased 
 
 Fig. 70.-— Vertical Cross Section of Observatory Beehive. 
 
 thickness will be necessary. The top and bottom 
 pieces of the inner frame are fastened at the 
 corners by screws or nails as shown in Fig. 73. The 
 notches in the side pieces are cut with a tenon saw 
 and a chisel to a depth of Ij in., just sufficient to 
 
Observatory Beehive for Temporary Use. 77 
 
 admit freely the top bar of the frames. The pro- 
 jecting ends of the top bar rest on the edges of 
 small pieces of tinplate as shown in Fig. 69. If it 
 is intended to fix the inner frame to its outer case 
 by means of dowels through the sides, the holes 
 
 i ^^^^^^:^^s^^^^^^ 
 
 Fig". 71. — Horizontal Section of Observatory Beehive. 
 
 for them should be bored before the inner frame 
 and case are jointed up. 
 
 It will be seen from Figs. 69 to 71 that the side 
 pieces of the case fit close to the sides of the inner 
 frame, but the top and bottom pieces f and E are 
 clear by a space of about | in. and \ in. respectively. 
 The shape of the side pieces of the case G is seen in 
 Fig. 69. The top piece f is fixed to the sides by 
 dovetailing, or by nails or screws, and the bottom 
 piece E slips into a groove cut in the side pieces. 
 
 The base h (Figs. 69 to 71), into which the lower 
 
 Fig. 72.— Sectional Plan of Observatory Beehive Top. 
 
 ends of the side pieces are slightly sunk, is a flat 
 board with a moulded or chamfered edge, sup- 
 ported on four edging pieces mitred together at the 
 corners. The piece e is perforated with a number 
 of J-in. holes, which form a communication with 
 
78 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 the interior of the lower part of the case. This is 
 closed in on both sides with frames m fitted with 
 panels of perforated zinc or wire cloth. This lower 
 chamber is intended as a means of giving ventila- 
 tion to the hive when the bees are confined by 
 closing the entrance L (Fig. 69), when no provision 
 for flight can be made. At other times the holes 
 in the piece e are closed by sliding a thin slip of 
 wood or vulcanite through the doorway l between 
 the bottom of the inner frame A and the top of the 
 piece E, thus cutting off the communication between 
 the hive and the ventilating chamber below. 
 
 Above the top piece f, and screwed to it, is a 
 piece of board 4 in. thick, with a rectangular slot 
 cut in its central part. This piece N (Figs. 69 and 
 70) is shown in half-plan on the left of Fig. 72, and 
 it will be seen that its breadth is the same as that 
 of the pieces forming the case, and that it projects 
 about 1 in. at each side. Below these projecting 
 ends, and against the sides G (Fig. 69), blocks o, to 
 strengthen the corners of the case, are fastened by 
 screws or dowelled and glued. 
 
 Surmounting the case is a cap, P, the upper edges 
 of which are bevelled ; it is secured to the case with 
 thumbscrews, so that it may be easily removed for 
 bottle-feeding the bees through a hole in f (see 
 Fig. 72). Within the slot in N a piece of perforated 
 zinc should be loosely fitted to keep the bees from 
 coming through the holes. If it is not intended to 
 use these holes as ventilators when the bees are 
 confined to the hive, any simple means may be used 
 to cover up the holes. 
 
 If desired, a bow handle by which to lift the 
 hive can be fastened to the flat part of the cap, 
 in which case the small plates into which the 
 thumbscrews hold must be fixed to the underside 
 of the piece N and sunk, and not as shown in the 
 left-hand part of Fig. 72. 
 
 The two windows are frames made up of four 
 pieces with a groove ploughed in one edge and 
 
Obser va tor V Beehive for Tempora r y Use. 7 9 
 
 mitred together at the corners. Half a window is 
 shown in the right-hand part of Fig. 69. The inside 
 measurements of the window frames are the same 
 as those of the inner frame A, and the breadth of 
 
 Fig. 73. — Inside Frame of Observatory Beehive. 
 
 the top and side pieces is \\ in. The bottom piece 
 is If in. wide, which throws the line of the bottom 
 corner joints a little out of a true mitre of 45°. 
 This can be obviated by making the four pieces of 
 
8o Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 the window frame If in. broad, a small reduction 
 in its internal breadth and depth being allowed to 
 suit. On each side of the windows, and fixed to the 
 case, are the strips R (Figs. 69 and 71), to which 
 small catches, that secure the windows in their 
 places, are screwed. Four shutters s (see also Fig. 
 70), hinged to the case, are provided to shut out 
 the light as well as to retain heat. They are framed 
 and filled in with a panel, and should be provided 
 with a bolt at the top and bottom of one of the 
 shutters, and a latch on the other. Some bee 
 keepers recommend lining the inside of the shutters 
 with felt or other heat-retaining material ; but as 
 this hive is only for use in the warm season of the 
 year, this is unnecessary. 
 
 The hive should be set up within doors ; a warm 
 out-house or shed will do very well, or a room in a 
 dwelling-house might be used for the purpose. A 
 covered passage must be made through the wall 
 to the outside for the bees. A small bracket land- 
 ing place for the bees is shown by dotted lines 
 close to the entrance L (Fig. 69). 
 
 In stocking an observatory hive of this kind, 
 select three combs from the centre of a strong 
 colony in a bar-frame hive containing plenty of 
 brood in all stages from the egg upwards. Lift 
 them out, and place one at a time into the uni- 
 comb hive with the bees clinging to them, taking 
 care that the queen bee is also moved in. It is 
 advisable that a large proportion of the bees to 
 populate the observatory hive should be young 
 ones that have not flown, otherwise there is great 
 risk of depleting it, through the older bees going 
 back to the hive from which they were taken. 
 On this account it is preferable to operate on a 
 fine, warm day, at a time when many of the older 
 bees are out, and it is then a comparatively easy 
 matter to take with a stiff feather or piece of 
 card from several frames as many young bees 
 (known by their lighter colour) as are required. 
 
Observatory Beehive for Temporary Use. 8i 
 
 It is quite possible to succeed without taking 
 the queen with the bees, if the combs contain 
 
 Fig. 74. — Mounting Observatory Beehive on Brackets 
 with Pivots. 
 
 eggs, or larvse not more than three days old, from 
 which the bees can raise a young queen, but in 
 
82 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances. 
 
 Fig. 75. —Mounting Observatory Beehive on Feet with Pivot. 
 
Observatory Beehive FOR Temporary Use. 83 
 
 this case considerable time elapses (about six 
 weeks) before the progeny of the young queen is 
 added to the population, which, meanwhile, will 
 diminish somewhat in number, so that results may 
 not prove as satisfactory as by the adoption of 
 the first method. 
 
 There are various ways of mounting observatory 
 hives besides that illustrated in Fig. 69. Fig. 74 
 shows in section a hive swung between pivots, so 
 that it can be turned with either side to the wall. 
 The lower pivot is of wood with a central hole 
 through which the bees pass to the hive, a hole 
 being cut through the supporting block up which 
 the bees may creep. This block comes against the 
 opening cut in the external wall of the room 
 against which the board, to which the whole is 
 fixed, is bolted. The top pivot can be withdrawn 
 so that the hive case may be detached. 
 
 The hive can also be supported on a central 
 pivot as shown in Fig. 75. The foot is cross- 
 shaped, one of the pieces being hollow and form- 
 ing the entrance for the bees. In the interior of 
 the foot immediately below the hollow pivot an 
 incline of wood is placed to guide the bees to the 
 hole that leads into the hivo. 
 
«4 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 INSPECTION CASE FOR BEEHIVES. 
 
 An observatory hive is an expensive luxury that 
 few amateur bee keepers can afford ; and although 
 an inspection case (Fig. 76) will not take its place 
 for exhibition purposes it will be found useful 
 
 Fig. 76. — Inspection Case for Beehives. 
 
 when showing the working of a hive to timid per- 
 sons, or for examining the frames on a cold day 
 when there is danger of the brood being chilled, 
 or the queen blown off the comb. It will also 
 be found useful to those bee keepers who strongly 
 object to being stung. The frames may be lifted 
 one after another into the case and examined on 
 
Inspection Case for Beehives, 
 
 85 
 
 both sides ; a frame may be transferred to an- 
 other hive ; queen cells may be cut out by sliding 
 back the glass slightly to insert a thin-bladed knife 
 
 Fig. 77. — Section of Inspection Case. 
 
 for that purpose ; or a frame of honey may be 
 removed from the hive by lifting it into the case 
 and driving out the bees with smoke or carbolic, 
 when such a course happens to be necessary. 
 
 Fig. 78.— End Elevation of Inspection Case. 
 
 The case is made of ^-in. pine throughout, of a 
 length to take standard size bar-frames. The 
 total length must be determined by the size of the 
 
86 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 hives for which the case is made. Fig 77 shows 
 the case on a hive, with the outer casing, beyond 
 the end of the bar-frames, j in. thick. Fig. 78 is 
 an end view of the case. If two sizes of hive are 
 used, the case may be made to the longest hive 
 and a piece of calico tacked on from side to side, 
 as shown at c (Fig. 79). 
 
 To make the case, proceed as follows : Cut two 
 pieces of pine, \\ in. by \ in., and 3 in. longer 
 than the length of hive, and two pieces, 1 in. by 
 \ in., equal to the length of the hive. Plane these 
 up and rebate them \ in. deep in the width, and 
 the depth of the thickness of a piece of window 
 
 Fig. 79, — Arrangement of Case to Fit Two Lengths 
 of Beehives. 
 
 glass (15 oz.) in the thickness. Next get out four 
 pieces 10 in. long by 2 in. by \ in. ; nail the long 
 pieces to the short, as shown in the drawings, and 
 this will make the two sides. 
 
 Now prepare the top, bottom, and end pieces. 
 For the top, two pieces will be required 7 in. long 
 by \\ in. wide by \ in. thick. Rebate these for 
 a piece of window glass to form the top, and cut 
 a piece out as at A (Fig. 76) to allow of the frames 
 being lifted out if required. The size of pieces cut 
 out must be regulated by the length of the frames, 
 and the rebate worked to the full depth of the 
 pieces cut out. Two light pieces are nailed on 
 the bottom of these top pieces, as shown at A 
 
Inspection Case for Beehives, 
 
 s? 
 
 (Fig. 77), to form a groove to prevent the glass 
 falling into the case. 
 
 The bottom pieces are 7 in. long by \\ in. by 
 \ in., and are to be nailed on the projecting ends 
 of the bottom side pieces, to form a rebate to 
 keep the case in position on the hive. 
 
 Four end pieces are required, 10^ in. by li in. 
 
 ^^« 
 
 :^ 
 
 Wl 
 
 Fig". 80. — Securing End Openings of Inspection Case. 
 
 by \ in., and are nailed to the top pieces, sides, 
 and through the bottom pieces, which will com- 
 plete the woodwork. 
 
 Three pieces of glass will next be required, one 
 for the top, 1 ft. 5 in. long by 6 in. wide, and two 
 to fill the spaces at the sides. Two little buttons 
 are screwed on, as shown at b (Fig. 76), to keep 
 the top glass in position, while four small screws o 
 
 Fig. 81. — Cross Section of Inspection Case. 
 
 will serve to keep the side glasses from falling off. 
 The spaces at each end are filled with four pieces 
 of calico or other suitable material, and an 
 arrangement is made here to get the fingers in to 
 lift the frames without letting the bees get out. 
 Fig. 80 will explain how this is done. One edge 
 of each piece of calico is hemmed, and a piece of 
 
88 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 elastic drawn through A. The calico is tacked on 
 at the bottom, top, and sides, leaving the elastic 
 edges free. A (Fig. 78) shows the elastic edges 
 drawn back ready for the insertion of the fingers. 
 Two pieces of calico will now be required, each 
 large enough to cover the whole top of the hive. 
 These are tacked to the bottom bars of the case, 
 as shown in Fig. 81. To complete the case, eight 
 2-in. wire nails are driven through the sides at 
 
 Fig. 82. — Handle for Lifting Frames. 
 
 B (Fig. 81), on which to hang the frames for 
 examination. 
 
 When using the case, take off the cover of the 
 hive ; begin from one side, and, as the quilt is 
 rolled off, push the case on. The frames may then 
 be lifted up into the case, as shown at Fig. 77, 
 and hung on the nails. A couple of hooks (Fig. 
 82), made with a piece of steel wire and a couple 
 of bradawl handles, may be used for lifting the 
 frames. 
 
89 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HIVE FOR REARING QUEEN BEES. 
 
 Bee keeping, conducted upon advanced principles, 
 requires the bee keeper to provide himself with a 
 supply of fertile queen bees during the working 
 season. These are introduced into stocks that 
 have been swarmed by art, in order to supply the 
 place of the queen taken from them ; or, in the 
 case of natural swarms, to save the time — very 
 precious during the honey-flow — that would elapse 
 before the immature queens left on the departure 
 of the first swarm arrive at maturity, and take up 
 the maternal duty of keeping up the working popu- 
 lation of the hive, or of the new colonies which 
 the secondary swarm or swarms originate. They 
 will also be needed to enable the bee keeper to 
 carry out certain other objects he may contem- 
 plate, such as the supersession of queens whose 
 powers are declining through age, or which lack 
 the desirable qualities good queens possess. 
 
 The rearing of queens is then an important 
 matter with bee keepers who have apiaries of more 
 than a few stocks of bees. The work is usually 
 done by setting apart several small colonies of 
 bees obtained by the division of full-sized stocks. 
 The queens are reserved, so that the colonies are 
 queenless, and in each of these queenless colonies 
 a selected queen cell eight or nine days old is 
 placed. A few days after the queen will arrive at 
 maturity and liberate herself from the cell, and at 
 a later stage, if all goes well, she will be found 
 busily employed laying eggs, and receiving the 
 attentions of her subjects. As soon as the bee 
 keeper is assured of the queen^s fertility by the 
 
90 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances* 
 
 presence of eggs, or better, of worker brood in the 
 hive, he may utilise her as he thinks proper. 
 
 Full-sized hives, with the interior space con- 
 tracted by means of division-boards, so as just to 
 take in three bar frames, serve for queen-rearing, 
 but it is generally more expedient to use special 
 or nucleus hives of simple construction and smaller 
 size, which are easy to manipulate or move about. 
 
 The hive, of which a perspective view is given 
 in Fig. 83, is half the size of the usual full-sized 
 
 Fig". 83. — Hive for Rearing Queen Bees. 
 
 hive. It takes in five standard size bar-frames, 
 and will serve either for queen-rearing or to ac- 
 commodate temporarily a small or medium swarm. 
 It is not difficult to make, and to a beginner in 
 bee keeping who proposes to make his own hives 
 it will afford a preliminary exercise before taking 
 in hand the construction of stock-hives. 
 
 A plan of the body box, and as much of the 
 base-board as can be seen by looking directly 
 downwards, is shown in full outline in Fig. 84; 
 and Fig. 85 is a longitudinal section taken cen- 
 
Hive for Rearing Queen Bees, 
 
 91 
 
 trally through the roof, body, and base, or foot- 
 board. 
 
 As the hive is to hold standard frames, the size 
 of the frame determines the dimensions of the 
 
 Fig. 84.— Plan of Body-box. 
 
 Fig. 85. — Section of Hive for Rearing Queen Bees. 
 
 body box. The outside measure of the standard 
 frame is 14 in. by 8^ in. by \ in. The top bar 
 is 17 in. long and | in. thick ; the side pieces and 
 the bottom bar are \ in. and \ in. thick respec- 
 tively. The space between the frame ends and 
 
92 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 the inside of the hive body is \ in., so that the 
 inside length of the body box is 14j in. The in- 
 side width, to take in five frames, each 1^ in. from 
 centre to centre, is 7} in., and the depth to give 
 a |-in. space below the frames is Sj in. These 
 three regulating dimensions are marked on Figs. 
 84 and 85, and as the illustrations are drawn to 
 scale, other measurements may be taken from 
 them. 
 
 The body of the hive is made up of six pieces : 
 two sides A, two ends b, and two inside ends c. 
 
 Fi^. 86.— Modified Body-box. 
 
 The ends b fit into rebates in the sides A, and the 
 inside pieces c into grooves cut in the sides, as 
 shown in plan (Fig. 84). If frames with IS^-in. 
 top bars are used, as is sometimes done, a simpler 
 body box will be suiO&cient, as shown in the 
 isometrical sketch (Fig. 86), where it will be seen 
 that the outside pieces b (Figs. 84 and 85) are 
 dispensed with, their places being taken by small 
 pieces fastened on the top edge of the box ends. 
 As the end pieces do not reach the level of the 
 top edges of the sides, a rebate is left into which 
 the ends of the top bar of the frame will fit so 
 as to suspend the frame vertically in the hive. 
 
Hive for Rearing Queen Bees, 
 
 93 
 
 The hive body being made to correct size — and 
 as a precautionary measure it is well to have a 
 bar-frame handy to try the fit from time to time 
 during the making, so as to avoid mistakes — the 
 base and roof are made to correspond. Supposing 
 the sides A (Fig. 84) are made of wood planed up 
 to I in. thick, the width of the base-board will be 
 8i in., and if the ends b are of J-in. stuff, the 
 length of the flat part on which the body of the 
 hive rests will be 18 in. ; and allowing 5 in. for the 
 flight-boards before the hive door, the total length 
 will be 23 in. 
 
 Fig. 88. — Distance Rack. 
 
 Fig. 87. — Division-board, 
 
 The construction of the base-board and the roof 
 can be best understood by reference to the figures. 
 The dotted lines in Fig. 84 show the roof in plan. 
 In each of the four inside corners of the roof, 
 pieces of wood of square section (d. Fig. 85) are 
 nailed ; these rest on the corners of the hive body, 
 and support the roof in position. The door is cut 
 as shown at E (Fig. 85), and a strip of wood is 
 nailed to the lower part of the sides A (Fig. 84) 
 to keep the hive upon the footboard. These strips 
 are shown in Fig. 83, but, in order to avoid con- 
 fusion, are not shown in Fig. 84. 
 
 When the hive is used for queen-rearing, it 
 would be contracted so as just to hold three 
 
94 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 frames. A division-board or dummy on each side 
 of the frames will effect this. Fig. 87 shows one of 
 the division-boards, which, as will be seen, is a bar- 
 frame with a thin piece of wood nailed to one side 
 of it. This piece of wood is long enough to fit 
 against the sides of the body-box snug, but not 
 tight, and in breadth it is equal to the depth of 
 the frame. In order to lessen the risk of crush- 
 ing the bees when the frames are moved, jt should 
 not reach the floor-board, and the bottom bar 
 should be taken off or a hole bored in it to permit 
 bees chancing to get between the division-board 
 and the hive side to escape. 
 
 The frames are kept the proper distance apart 
 
 Fig. 89. — Foot of Hive for Rearing Queen Bees. 
 
 by means of two racks, one of which is shown in 
 Fig. 88. These are not required if they are fitted 
 with the metal ends bee keepers generally use for 
 this purpose ; but it is not difficult to space the 
 frames without the use of either. A few pencil- 
 marks on the hive ends may be used as a guide to 
 accurate distancing. 
 
 A stand for the hive may be made by cutting 
 two pieces of wood to the form shown in Fig. 89 ; 
 the floor-board of the hive rests within the part 
 cut out of the upper surface. Frames for hives 
 are, generally speaking, best got ready-made from 
 dealers in bee keepers' requisites, as they are 
 made accurately to size by machinery, and are 
 sold at a low price. 
 
Hive for Rearing Queen Bees. 95 
 
 In marking out the timber, care should be taken 
 as far as possible to avoid knots coming near the 
 edges of the pieces or in the roof-board, and the 
 heart side of the timber should always be on the 
 outside of the hive. If this is not done, the hive 
 when exposed to the weather is fairly certain to 
 open at the joints. Over the roof-top a piece of 
 calico, cut to size, should be stretched, folded 
 round the edges, and secured by tacks underneath. 
 A coat of thick oil paint upon the calico will make 
 the roof watertight, and the hive itself should also 
 receive a coat of paint. A light colour is best, as 
 dark shades absorb the heat of the sun, making 
 the hive intolerably hot for the bees, and perhaps 
 melting their combs down into a confused mass. 
 
95 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SUPER-CLEARER3. 
 
 The operation of removing the honey from the 
 hive and ridding the hive of bees, although, until 
 quite recently, the one operation dreaded by bee 
 keepers, can now be performed with little or no 
 disturbance in as many minutes as formerly the 
 operation required hours, and without the inflic- 
 tion of a single sting upon the operator if ordinary 
 care be taken. This is effected by the use of a 
 super-clearer, an American invention. 
 
 The most simple form of clearer is a cone made 
 of perforated metal, fixed in the gable, or gables, 
 of the hive roof, as shown by Fig. 7, p. 17. In 
 use it is simplicity itself. The super to be cleared 
 is gently prised up, small spills of wood (match 
 ends will do) inserted at the corners, and through 
 the orifice thus formed a few puffs of smoke are 
 blown into the hive. After waiting a moment the 
 operator should raise the super, whilst an assis- 
 tant places a quilt over the body-box or super 
 below, when the full super may be replaced above 
 it ; the covering quilt of the super is then removed 
 and the roof put on. The bees, finding communi- 
 cation with the hive proper cut off, make tracks 
 for home through the cone, and once out they 
 cannot return. Stray bees on the prowl (for bees 
 are inveterate robbers) also fail to effect an 
 entrance. By reason of the perforations in the 
 cone, the bees are attracted to its base, where 
 they fail to gain admission ; and robbers can find 
 their way inside only when they are sufficiently 
 numerous entirely to cover the cone. 
 
 For the reason last given, the cone as a clearer 
 
SUPER'CLEARERS. 97 
 
 is unsuited for use in late autumn, or at any other 
 season when honey may be scarce ; but in late 
 summer, or when nectar is still plentiful, its use 
 is advantageous. If the super is disconnected 
 from the hive in the early morning it can be left 
 to clear itself during the day ; and in the evening, 
 the honey, unaccompanied by a single bee, can be 
 removed indoors. 
 
 Some cones are fitted with a delicate steel 
 spring, which, whilst not impeding the egress of 
 confined bees, effectually stops the ingress of any 
 intruder ; the cones are also sometimes used 
 
 Fig. 90. — Porter Bee Escape. 
 
 double — one within the other, J in. apart — for the 
 sa«ie purpose. 
 
 Another method of using the cones is, instead 
 of entirely uncovering the super of honey, to re- 
 place the quilt by a board furnished with several 
 round holes, over each of which a cone is laid or 
 fixed. Escaping bees have thus to pass a double 
 trap, whilst double obstacles are placed in the 
 path of marauding bees. Cones have also been 
 tried the reverse way — that is, to make the bees 
 return to the hive proper without passing into 
 the open air — but have not been much of a suc- 
 cess ; and practice has proved that the slighter 
 the connection between the hive and the super 
 to be cleared the more quickly will it be rid of 
 
98 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 bees. The ideal cone should be wide at the base, 
 about 3 in. in length, and have the aperture at 
 the point large enough to pass two bees simul- 
 taneously. 
 
 However, when by the use of the cone clearer, 
 owing to the lateness of the season or otherwise, 
 robbing is likely to be induced, it is safest not 
 to rely upon it at all, but to use a clearer that 
 affords the bees a direct passage back into the 
 hive without the possibility of return. This is 
 found in the Porter bee escape, obtainable for a 
 shilling of any dealer in bee goods. Fig. 90 
 
 Fig, 91. — Super-clearer Complete. 
 
 shows it with a portion cut away to expose the 
 interior. It consists of an oblong piece of thin 
 tinplate A, in size 4j in. by 1| in., with a 1-in. 
 hole punched through near one end. To its un- 
 derside is soldered a rectangular box b, 2| in. 
 long, Ij in. wide, and \ in. deep, one end of which 
 is open. Inside this box a i_j-shaped piece c 
 is fixed, 1 in. long, 1 in. wide, and \ in (full) deep, 
 and the inner end d is bent downwards to meet 
 the bottom of box b. To the inner sides of piece 
 c are soldered two fine springs E of brass ribbon, 
 ^^ in. wide, which are bent inwards, as shown, 
 until they almost meet. To an outgoing bee these 
 springs offer little or no resistance ; to an in^oer 
 
SUPER-CLEARERS. 99 
 
 they offer an impenetrable barrier. If the bee, 
 foiled at the apex of the triangle formed by the 
 springs, tries to force a passage by their sides, 
 the only result is that the springs are pressed the 
 closer together, so that to gain an entrance is an 
 impossibility. 
 
 With regard to the use of the super-clearer on 
 a hive, it may be said that its size depends on 
 that of the hive, and that no definite measure- 
 ments can be given beyond saying that appliance 
 dealers usually make it about 16 in. square. Take 
 sufficient dry pine or other wood, J in. thick, and 
 joint it to the required width — preferably by 
 grooving, as should it shrink sufficiently to allow 
 a bee-space between the joints its efficiency would 
 be lost—and on each side fix a border, as shown 
 in Figs. 91 and 92, of 1-in. by |-in. wood. In its 
 
 Fig. 92. — Section of Super-clearer. 
 
 exact centre cut a hole to take the rectangular 
 box B of the escape, into which hole it should fit 
 firmly without the need of further fixing ; and in 
 order to allow the bees to escape, the end of the 
 hole at the outlet end must be bevelled off, as 
 shown at h in Fig. 92, which is a section of the 
 clearer. 
 
 In use, the operation of removing surplus honey 
 is the same as when using the cone, with the 
 exception that the clearer, instead of a quilt, is 
 interposed between hive and super, the quilts 
 above the super remaining intact. The object of 
 the border round the clearer board will now be 
 apparent: a bee-space is provided above and 
 below. The bees, finding themselves practically 
 cut off from below, will soon discover a passage- 
 way out, and, passing through the hole in the 
 top of the escape, they will be guided past the 
 
100 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 springs and so into the hive below, the stream 
 of bees only ceasing when all have cleared out. 
 When this is the case, the honey may be removed ; 
 the honey can be extracted from the frames at 
 once, and the combs returned to be refilled, or 
 cleaned out ready for storing away. In the formfer 
 case the clearer must be removed ; in the latter, 
 by fitting the board with a little extra contriv- 
 ance, the bees can be re-admitted without dis- 
 turbance ; and, when the combs have been cleaned 
 out dry, the super can be again cleared of bees 
 in readiness for its final removal. 
 
 Holes from 1 in. to Ij in. diameter ma\- be 
 bored through the clearer-board in one or more 
 
 SUPER 
 
 Fig". 93. — Clearer in Use between Hive and Super. 
 
 corners, as shown in Fig. 91, and covered with 
 slides of tinplate or sheet zinc, as guides for the 
 working of which tacks or small nails will sufiice. 
 In ordinary use the holes are closed by the slides ; 
 but when the dripping combs are returned from 
 the extractor, and all is covered up snug, the 
 slides may be withdrawn, allowing the bees free 
 entrance, an invitation they will not be slow in 
 accepting ; and if the combs are returned in the 
 evening, the slides may be again closed next 
 morning, when the bees will again pass below 
 through the escape, permitting the now dry combs 
 to be removed later. 
 
 In cases where hives are made perfectly square 
 to permit the combs to be hung at right angles to. 
 
SUPER'CLEARERS. loi 
 
 or parallel with, the entrance, and the frames of 
 successive bodies or supers to be placed at right 
 angles to those immediately below, the clearer 
 board may be the same size as the outside 
 measurement of the hive, and may be provided 
 with a plinth (see Fig. 93) to keep it in place 
 during the period of its use and so prevent undue 
 loss of heat. In Fig. 93, the hive walls are shown 
 in full black lines, the super-clearer being hatched. 
 The method adopted by a well-known honey 
 producer for removing supers may be given with 
 advantage, as by its adoption smoke — which does 
 not improve the flavour of honey if applied too 
 freely — is unnecessary. Dip a square of un- 
 bleached calico into diluted carbolic acid (1 oz. 
 to a pint of water), wring it out as dry as possible, 
 and place the clearer on a stand by the hive. 
 Gently prise up the super as before described, 
 and, shaking out the carbolised cloth, hold it in 
 the hands whilst removing the crate of honey, 
 and by the same movement drop it over the frames 
 beneath, which will cause every bee to disappear 
 rapidly. Place the super on the clearer, quickly 
 remove the cloth, and put clearer and super on 
 the hive, to be left until clear of bees. The same 
 operation can be gone through when taking the 
 clearer off, but on no account must the carbolised 
 cloth remain near honey for any length of time, 
 or the flavour of the honey will be spoiled. - 
 
16^ 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 BEE SMOKERS. 
 
 This chapter will describe how to make two kinds 
 of smokers — the Bingham and the Clarke. A 
 Bingham smoker can be made at a cost not ex- 
 ceeding one shilling if the worker can use tin- 
 smiths' tools. These include snips for cutting the 
 thin tinplate ; a hatchet stake for turning over the 
 metal for wiring edges or making joints ; a large 
 soldering bit ; mallets and hammers ; punches ; 
 and odd pieces of iron. 
 
 A hatchet-stake may be improvised from a 
 2 ft. length of so-called half-round iron, 1| in. 
 wide, and | in. thick. The edges are smoothed 
 with a file, and the iron is supported in a vice. 
 
 As to materials for the construction of the 
 smoker, get a piece of best quality tinplate, 12 in. 
 by 18 in., wood, leather, a small bit of i in. brass 
 tube, and about 3 ft. of hard brass wire 16 gauge. 
 
 Fig. 94 is a general view of the smoker com- 
 plete. It consists of fire tube, T ; funnel, f ; hand- 
 guard, G ; strip to secure tube to bellows, H ; and 
 bellows, B. The fire tube is 2j in. in diameter and 
 6i in. long. The piece of tinplate should be cut 
 accurately square, 8| in. by 6| in. The two short 
 edges are then turned over a little more than 
 ^ in. from the edges, one being turned up and the 
 other down. The piece of tin is bent into a 
 cylinder, and the bent edges hooked into one 
 another and hammered down tight, using a piece 
 of thick round iron or steel as a stake on which 
 to hammer. Run a little solder along the joint 
 to strengthen it. 
 
 When the cylinder has been made fairly circu- 
 lar, it will be found to be 2^ in. in diameter. 
 
Bee Smokers, 103 
 
 Both ends of this cylinder ought now to be 
 quite flat ; but if they are not, the file should be 
 used until they are made so ; J in. at one end 
 must now be turned out all round at right angles 
 to the body of the cylinder, and this can easily 
 be done with the good tin being used by means 
 of a hammer and the stake, or the sharp edge 
 of a cast-iron lathe bed, which is more solid. The 
 cylinder will thus be reduced to its final length, 
 6j in. Within | in. of the flanged end, a i in. 
 hole is punched through the tin. 
 
 This hole is to be coned inwards, as shown in 
 
 Fig. 94. — Bingham Bee Smoker. 
 
 Fig. 95, the object being to direct any of the blast 
 which might impinge upon the sides of the hole 
 inwards into the smoker, rather than between the 
 fire-box and guard. The cone can be shaped with 
 the pane of a light hammer. 
 
 The end or bottom e (Fig. 95) is of tinplate, its 
 radius being just 1^ in., J in. of the edge being 
 turned up all round, like a cover of a canister ; 
 the flanged edge of the cylinder is laid in it, and 
 the edges turned in to embrace the flange and 
 keep all tight, as shown at E (Fig. 95). The edge 
 of the bottom can be turned up on the end of a 
 piece of thick round iron. 
 
 The funnel may next be made, its pattern being 
 
104 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 shown by Fig. 96. The arcs of circles should be 
 scribed on the sheet of tinplate, the inner being 
 If in., and the outer Gj in. in radius; measure off 
 
 ^^f^\ 
 
 8| in. on the circumference of the outer arc, and 
 draw lines to the centre ; the piece may then be 
 cut out, turned up ' and down at the edges, and 
 connected in the same way as the body tube. Do 
 
Bee Smokers, 
 
 165 
 
 not, however, turn down quite so much at the 
 edges so as to make the large end of the funnel 
 big enough to embrace the tube t (Fig. 94 and 95). 
 The end of the funnel should be hammered, so as 
 to make about \ in. of its wide end parallel to fit 
 on the cylindrical body. The body of T could be 
 tapered very slightly to assist the putting on of 
 the cone. 
 
 Fi^, 96.— Pattern of Funnel. 
 
 The piece m is a sort of additional support to 
 the barrel. It is simply a piece of tinplate 1^ in. 
 square, having two edges turned down and 
 hammered flat, making it \ in. wide. It is then 
 bent at right angles, having one leg | in. long, 
 and the other \ in. long. It is attached to the 
 hand-guard and support H by the short leg, while 
 the long one is hollowed out to fit the curve of the 
 body of the blower. 
 
 The hand-guard is a piece of tinplate, No. 16 
 
io6 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 B.W.S., 65 in. by 4| in. wired all round with thin 
 wire. The wiring is easily done by first cutting 
 small pieces off the corners of the tin, then turn- 
 ing up the edges all round, laying the wire in the 
 edges, and then hammering down so as completely 
 to cover the wire, and leave a nicely formed bead. 
 The hand-guard is bent to a semicircle. 
 
 The support is made of a strip of tinplate 
 7^ in. long and If in. wide. Lines must be scribed 
 on one surface | in. from each edge, thus marking 
 it into three parts, the centre one being \ in. wide. 
 At 1| in. from one end, and at \\ in. from the 
 other, nick the sides into the lines, and turn over 
 
 Fig. 97. — Smoker Diaphragm. 
 
 the edges of the end pieces, thus doubling the tin 
 at the ends and making them only \ in. wide. The 
 centre must also have its edges turned up, but 
 only at right angles, to the middle part, thus 
 making a sort of trough which will fit on the 
 piece of wood s (Fig. 95) nailed to the bellows board. 
 The ends of this piece of tinplate are now turned 
 up in the opposite direction to the trough, the 
 short one at right angles, and the longer one at 
 an angle of 135^ with the middle part. This last 
 end is to be bent agaiii, a little more than 1 in. 
 from the first bend, so as to lie parallel to the 
 centre part. 
 
 For riveting these parts together, obtain four 
 rivets i in. thick and \ in. long. One rivet con- 
 
Bee Smokers, 107 
 
 nects the support h, the hand-guard G, and the 
 little piece m, all together towards the front, while 
 another l\ in. from the back holds H and G to- 
 gether. A f in. hole should now be made in H 
 and G i in. from the back, and the whole may be 
 attached to the barrel with the two rivets shown. 
 The rivet holes are punched. The top of m should 
 be filed hollow to fit the curve of the barrel, the 
 front part of h being hammered to a similar curve. 
 The diaphragm d (Fig. 95) is of sheet iron, and 
 the legs are sometimes riveted on, but it is easier 
 to cut it out of the iron in one piece as in Fig. 97. 
 It should be punched with J in. holes. The 
 diameter is just a little less than 2\ in., and the 
 legs are 1 in. long ; they are turned up at right 
 
 <--y. 
 
 ^r?^/* 
 
 3 
 
 Fig. 98.— Coned Blast Fig. 99.— Nicked Tube for 
 
 Pipe. Making Blast Pipe. 
 
 angles to the body. The leg L (Fig. 95) is riveted 
 on. 
 
 The only difficulty likely to be experienced in 
 the coned blast pipe p (see also Fig 98) is the 
 coning of the mouth to | in. This, however, is 
 easy after cutting two nicks in the piece of \ in. 
 tubing as in Fig. 99. Anneal the brass by heating 
 it in the fire, and when cool, the point can be 
 hammered cone-shape without much trouble. A 
 touch of solder will mend the cut afterwards. This 
 is not a professional method, but is quite good 
 enough for the present purpose. 
 
 The piece of wood s (Fig. 95) bears the whole 
 weight of the tin portion. Oak will be found the 
 best material ; and suitable dimensions are 4| in. 
 by J in. by ^ in. At j in. from one end make a 
 J in. hole to take the blast-pipe ; the upper edges 
 
io8 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 are to be bevelled off and hollows cut to take the 
 heads of the rivets in H (Fig. 95). 
 
 The boards of the bellows can be made of any 
 tough and thoroughly seasoned wood. Two pieces 
 for the cheeks of the bellows are 5 in. by h\ in., 
 two other pieces x (Fig. 95) are 4j in. by \ in., 
 \ in. thick at the back and rather more at the 
 front, so that when the backs of the two boards 
 are brought together the front joint will not 
 open. The piece y is | in. square and 2^ in. long, 
 and another piece is -^-^ in. square and 3j in. long. 
 The wood piece for the valve is 2 in. square and 
 \ in. or so thick. When all the pieces have been 
 nicely planed and rubbed on a sheet of glasspaper, 
 bore a hole for the valve in one bellows board 
 and one at w for the blast pipe in the other. The 
 latter is | in. in diameter, and | in. from the back 
 end of the board ; the former is \\ in. in diameter, 
 and its centre is 2 in. from the back end of the 
 board. The burrs which may have been formed 
 in the boring of these holes should be carefully 
 glasspapered off. The pieces x should then be 
 glued and tacked across the front edges of the 
 boards, and the piece Y similarly fixed on the 
 lower one, | in. behind x, its ends being equidis- 
 tant from the edges of the board. 
 
 The springs (Fig. 100) must next be made ; each 
 is a piece of wire bent into two parts, and as 
 there are two springs there will be, in effect, four 
 wires pushing the boards apart. To make the 
 springs, drive a couple of wire nails -^-^ in. thick 
 into a piece of wood 6 in. apart. Cut the 16 gauge 
 wire 14^ in. long and straighten it, place it against 
 the wire nails with the ends projecting equally at 
 both sides, and turn the ends round the nails, one 
 to the right and the other to the left. Give two 
 and a quarter turns to each end, which will leave 
 them at right angles to the middle part as in Fig. 
 101. Then bend the middle part at m into a curve 
 so as to bring the coils together and the loose ends 
 
Bee Smokers. 
 
 109 
 
 lying side by side. Then with pliers turn down the 
 points to prevent them from sticking in the boards, 
 and give a little bend just near the coil (see Fig. 
 100). The ends of the piece of wood which have 
 been prepared, -^^ in. square and 3j in. long, are 
 rounded and passed through the coils of the 
 springs, and a little bit of thin wire ties them 
 together to prevent their slipping off. This axle, 
 as it may be called, of the springs is then placed 
 between the pieces x and Y (Fig. 95), and the 
 lower board then resembles Fig. 102, this illustrat- 
 
 P" 
 
 Fiof. 100.— Spring. 
 
 tVI 
 
 Fig. 101.— Wire for 
 
 Making Spring. 
 
 Q. 
 
 ing the bottom board of the bellows with springs 
 in place. 
 
 The valve is a piece of leather 3 in. by 2 in., 
 to which the 2 in. square piece of wood is secured 
 at one end by a tack passing through near its 
 centre. If it were glued to the wood, and the 
 latter warped, the valve would not close. Three 
 edges of the wood valve will coincide with three 
 of the leather, and an inch of the leather will pro- 
 ject beyond the wood. By means of this tongue 
 the valve is secured to the board with two tacks. 
 A light spring (shown in Fig. 95) presses very 
 
no Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 gently on the back of the valve to prevent it from 
 opening except under suction. This spring can 
 best be made of a bit of watch-spring, but a bit 
 of thin hard brass wire does almost as well ; a 
 tack passing through a hole in the watch-spring, 
 or a loop turned on the end of the wire, will fasten 
 it to the bellows board. It would be well to put 
 a narrow strip of leather over the valve and fasten 
 its ends down with two tacks, allowing the valve 
 only about \ in. rise. This is to prevent mis- 
 
 Fig. 102.— Bottom Board of Bellows. 
 
 chievous persons thrusting odd articles into the 
 bellows. 
 
 The hinge may now be tacked along the front 
 edges, of the boards and of the pieces x (Figt 95). 
 It is a strip of leather 5 in. by \\ in., and should 
 be glued as well as tacked. The springs may be 
 put in place, and the outer edges of the bellows 
 boards held 2| in. apart while the leather is being 
 glued on. The edges of the boards are rubbed 
 over with strong glue, and the leather laid on 
 and secured with short tacks 1 in. apart. The 
 edges may afterwards be cut flush with the outside 
 of the bellows boards. 
 
Bee Smokers, 
 
 III 
 
 As a general guide in procuring the leather 
 it may be said that a strip 18 in. long, tapering 
 from 3j in. in the middle to \\ in. at the ends, 
 does for the three sides, an inch being left at each 
 end to overlap the hinge. When the leather has 
 been put on, the bellows ought to be able to work 
 nicely ; but, for the sake of appearance, it is 
 customary to put a narrow strip of red leather 
 
 Fig-. 103.— Clarke Smoker. Fig. 10 4. —Section of 
 Clarke Smoker. 
 
 all round the edges of the boards, and to secure 
 it with small brass tacks. 
 
 Before the bellows are put together it will be 
 much better to fasten to the upper board the 
 piece s with glue and a couple of screws from the 
 inside, the blast holes in both bellows and sup- 
 port being over one another. A piece of wire- 
 gauze w (Fig. 95) should be put between the two, 
 govering the blast hole in such a way as to pre- 
 
112 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 vent ash or cinder from the smoker finding its 
 way into the bellows. The contracted piece of 
 brass pipe can now be pushed into place, and the 
 body of the smoker fastened to s with the piece of 
 tinplate h, which has its edges turned down so as 
 to embrace it ; four little screws or tacks will hold 
 it on very firmly. 
 
 The smoker is now finished and ready for the 
 fuel, which can be brown paper, sacking, or any- 
 thing that will smoulder. It should be inserted 
 in such a way as to afford passages for the air 
 through it. If it is packed tightly the smoke can- 
 not be expected to travel through the entire length 
 of the barrel. 
 
 The form of spring used in the real Bingham 
 smoker entails a good deal of unnecessary labour, 
 and probably a spiral spring of the proper strength 
 could be substituted. Then the front edges of the 
 bellows boards could be brought together, and the 
 four pieces of wood there found could be dispensed 
 with. 
 
 The Clarke smoker is simpler than the Bing- 
 ham, but hardly so efficient. Fig. 103 shows it in 
 general view, and Fig. 104 is a sectional view. 
 The bellows boards are 4^ in. by 6| in., and nearly 
 \ in. thick. A 1-in. hole is made through one 
 board, its centre being 2j in. from one end of 
 the board, and midway across it. This is for the 
 valve, which is simply a piece of stout leather 
 nailed on one side and free to rise on the other, 
 after the manner of a butterfly valve. At a dis- 
 tance of If in. from the opposite end of the other 
 board, a J-in. hole is bored, sloping from the front 
 as shown in Fig. 104. This is to take the blast 
 pipe. The boards are kept apart by a strong steel 
 spiral spring, which is placed at the side of the 
 valve, and more towards the back, just where the 
 pressure of the hand goes. The boards at their 
 widest part are 3 in. apart, and at the narrowest, 
 1 in. 
 
Bee Smokers, 
 
 "3 
 
 The entire bellows of the Clarke smoker could 
 easily be made by cutting out and planing the 
 boards, boring the holes, and tacking on the valve ; 
 then the points could be brought together, and a 
 slip of leather, 4 in. long and 1 in. wide, tacked 
 along them. The spiral spring, which could be 
 made of hard brass wire. No. 18, B.w.G., could 
 then be put in place, being fixed to the boards, 
 either with a straight piece of wire left at both 
 ends of the spring, or the ends of the spring could 
 
 ^__^ 14%- — >,_ 
 
 — ?r 
 
 Fig. 105.— Pattern of Funnel. 
 
 fit into holes bored partly through the boards. A 
 bit of wire could then be bent so as to keep the 
 boards 3 in. apart at the wide end while the 
 leather was being glued and tacked on. The 
 leather should overlap the piece already tacked to 
 the front by about an inch. Basil leather will 
 answer if better is difiicult to obtain. 
 
 The fire box of the Clarke smoker should be 
 made of stout tinplate. Its pattern is shown by 
 Fig. 105. The circles there shown should be care- 
 fully scribed with a compass on the sheet of tin- 
 
114 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances* 
 
 plate, and then cut out with a pair of snips. The 
 straight edges should be turned over for \ in., one 
 up and the other down, and the piece bent into 
 the shape of a funnel. The parts turned over will 
 then catch into one another, and should have a 
 little solder run along them after they have been 
 hammered tightly together. The wide end of the 
 funnel, for the distance of J in., is now to be 
 turned straight out so as to take the bottom (Fig. 
 106), which is attached to it just as a tinman fines 
 a bottom to a can, except that after it is turned 
 over once it is left standing out from the funnel, 
 as seen in Fig. 104. 
 
 Before the bottom is fastened, it would be as 
 
 ^^s:^^^;^:^^ Figf. 107. — Diaphragm 
 
 _ of Clarke Smoker. 
 
 Fig. 106.— Bottom of Funnel. 
 
 well to make the tinplate diaphragm (Fig. 107) and 
 fix it to the funnel. It is 2| in. in diameter, and 
 is punched with a number of J in. holes. In bought 
 smokers it is fitted in a kind of bead moulded on 
 the funnel ; but in the present case three or four 
 projecting tongues are left, and these are turned 
 over and fastened to the funnel wdth small rivets. 
 The bottom with its fire door cut out is shown 
 by Fig. 106. The outer dotted line in this figure 
 shows the part which will be turned over to em- 
 brace the funnel end. The door is a piece of tin- 
 plate large enough to cover the hole and to pivot 
 on the rivet shown in Fig. 103. Its edges are 
 turned over so as not to cut or scratch the hand 
 of the operator. 
 
Bee Smokers, rig 
 
 The tinplate blast pipe is 4^ in. long, its bore 
 tapering from | in. to slightly more than \ in. The 
 pipe is bent into the shape shown by Fig. 104, and 
 extends to within | in. of the front of the fire 
 holder. The whole of the sheet metal work is 
 attached to the bellows w^ith two screws, holes for 
 which, 2| in. apart, must be punched within | in. 
 of the base of the funnel. The blast pipe is 
 hooked into the hole in the bellows made for its 
 reception, and the screws are put in at the back, 
 a couple of bits of tinplate tubing, 1 in. long, 
 through which the screws pass, preventing the 
 bellows and fire box coming in contact with each 
 other. 
 
Il6 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HONEY EXTRACTORS. 
 
 The first of the. extractors to be described in this 
 chapter is of the Little Wonder pattern ; it is 
 useful to a bee keeper with two or three hives, 
 but is unsuitable for a larger apiary, as only one 
 comb at a time can be operated on. It is difficult 
 to use, and if the honey is thick from natural 
 causes or through cold weather the extractor can- 
 not be made to revolve at a sufficiently high speed 
 to clear the combs. Where a number of hives are 
 worked for extracted honey, a geared cylinder ex- 
 tractor (described later in this chapter) is neces- 
 sary. 
 
 To make the extractor (of which Fig. 108 is a 
 side view showing tKe handle raised) a piece of 
 clean, straight-grained red deal, 3 ft. 10 in. long 
 by If in. square, is required. From one end cut 
 off 7 in., and, beginning at about 6 in. from both 
 ends, chamfer down to circles Ij in. in diameter, 
 and fix ferrules about 1 in. long as shown at a 
 (Fig. 108). Then insert two pieces of |-in. round 
 iron, one 10 in. long and the other 4 in. long, for 
 about 3 in. into the ends ; the long piece should 
 be at the top, and the short piece at the bottom. 
 Take the 7-in. piece of wood, centre the ends, and 
 bore a |-in. hole through from end to end and 
 round the wood to Ij in. in diameter as shown at 
 B (Fig. 108). Next bend two pieces of 1-in. by 
 J-in. hoop iron about 2 ft. 9 in. long to the shape 
 shown in Fig. 109. It will be well to make a 
 rough template of the shape, and, if the iron is 
 fairly good, the bending can be done with a hand 
 vice after heating the metal in the fire. Place 
 
Honey Extractors. 
 
 these irons at c (Fig. 108), the method 
 of fastening them being shown in 
 Fig. 109. 
 
 For the can a piece of tinplate, 
 1 ft. 9i in. long by 1 ft. 3j in. wide, 
 will be required to form the back ; 
 the template used for bending the 
 irons may be reduced J in. and used 
 in shaping the tin as shown by Fig. 
 110. Four cleats A (Figs. 110 and 
 111) about 6 in. long, and two smaller 
 ones B (Figs. Ill and 112), of stout 
 tin, are soldered to the sides to hold 
 the cage in position. Two 
 pieces of tinplate, cut to 
 the shape shown by Fig. 
 113, and allowing a |-in. 
 margin round the outer 
 edge for the joints, are 
 required for the top and 
 bottom ; the semicircular 
 hole A (Fig. 113) is re- 
 quired in the top piece 
 only. These pieces can 
 be fixed to the back, and 
 the joints folded and sold- 
 ered. A piece of tinplate 
 9i in. by 3| in. is required 
 for the front c (Fig. 112) ; 
 the joints are turned over 
 and soldered at the bot- 
 tom and sides. 
 
 The front and bottom 
 may be worked in one 
 piece by making the bot- 
 tom 7 in. wide instead of 
 4 in. as in Fig. 113. The 
 opening in the front 
 should be strengthened Ym. 108. 
 with No. 11 B.W.G. wire Honey 
 
 T, 
 
 117 
 
 f 
 n 
 
 
 —Little Wonder 
 Extractor. 
 
ii8 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 run round, the tinplate being turned over it as at 
 c (Figs. 110 and 111). 
 
 To complete the can, cleats to hold it in posi- 
 
 Fig. 109 
 
 Fig. 109.— Section of 
 Little Wonder Ex- 
 tractor. Fig. 110. 
 —Section of Can 
 and Cage. 
 
 tion when dropped into the frame are fixed at d 
 (Figs. 108 and 112), and a lip is soldered to the top 
 for pouring out the honey. Good stout tinplate 
 
c 
 
 A 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 liilll 
 
 
 f 
 
 A 
 
 i 
 
 ■ 
 
 li ■! 
 
 
 I'ii 
 
 
 !, "\\\ 
 
 
 \!li'l 
 
 
 t l" 
 
 31 ^ 
 
 , '■■■ 
 
 
 " ■ 1 
 
 
 /,M 
 
 A 
 
 ! \\ 
 
 
 ;1 1 f I 
 
 
 y 1,1 
 
 
 
 
 u^ 
 
 Fig. 11 
 
 1. 
 
 Honey Extractors, 
 
 119 
 
 « 
 
 1 -'::<>:rr<^:::^^::zrL^ 
 
 I 
 
 > 
 
 ( 
 /( 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 N3 
 
 0/ 
 
 \\ 
 
 
 \\ 
 
 
 
 ' J 
 
 
 
 j j 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 , 
 
 j 
 
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 u - +- 
 
 
 
 -, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 '1 "'S' 
 
 
 
 1 . •-. 
 
 
 
 1 4- 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 8l--=^~* 
 
 
 
 
 i I- 
 
 
 1 
 
 // 
 
 
 f 
 
 ' . X-. 
 
 
 
 \ i--- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 i it 
 
 
 
 \ +" 
 
 ' 
 
 
 Hi 
 
 
 
 fl - -\ 
 
 
 
 1 ' _ ,,. ,. ... 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 /q 
 
 ^g?: 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 (: 
 
 ..I 
 
 ''b 
 
 C V 
 
 't-- 
 
 Fig. 112. 
 
 Fi^s. Ill and 112.— Section and Front View Qf Little 
 Wonder Can and Cage, 
 
120 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 should be used in making the can, or it will 
 collapse when a heavy comb is being extracted. 
 
 To hold the cage in position when the combs 
 are in, a wire is placed across the front at e (Fig. 
 112) ; one end is fastened with a small wire staple 
 soldered to the cage, and the other with a catch 
 of double tin or wire. 
 
 Fig. 113.— Pattern for Top and Bottom of Extractor. 
 
 The cage is of Ij-in. by J-in. oak or beech of the 
 dimensions given in Figs. 108 to 112. The joints 
 at the top may be dovetailed, and at the bottom, 
 mortise-and-tenon joints may be used. A gauge 
 line is run round the inside of the frame \ in. 
 from the bottom edge, and holes about | in apart 
 are bored with a fine bradawl. The holes in the 
 sides should commence about 1| in. from the ends, 
 and a space of | in. should be left at each side 
 
Honey Extractors. 
 
 121 
 
 to allow the metal ends of the frames to pass 
 through and bring the combs close to the wire of 
 the cage. The holes should be bored at an angle 
 as shown at A (Fig. 114) so as to strengthen the 
 cage. No. 20 b.w.g. tinned wire should be 
 threaded through the holes as shown in Figs. 112 
 and 114, the long wires being put in first and the 
 cross wires interlaced with them. Galvanised net- 
 ting is sometimes used for the cage, but this is 
 objectionable, as zinc should never be allowed to 
 come in contact with honey. Suitable wire can be 
 obtained from makers of b€e keeping appliances. 
 Wooden cleats are glued and nailed at each of 
 
 Fig. 114.— Corner of Cage of Little Wonder Extractor 
 
 the corners to keep the ends of the frames in posi- 
 tion when extracting ; the forms and positions of 
 these are shown in Figs. 112 and 114. 
 
 An iron plate 3 in. square by | in., with a J-in. 
 sinking in the centre, should be screwed at the 
 corners to the floor of the room where the ex- 
 tractor is being used. The spike at the bottom 
 of the extractor will work freely in the plate, and 
 will prevent the spike slipping. 
 
 The same principle governs the action of the 
 Little Wonder and cylinder extractors, the honey 
 leaving the cells of the comb by centrifugal force, 
 but, while in the Little Wonder the entire machine 
 revolves, carrying comb, receptacle for honey, and 
 
122 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances 
 
 any honey which has already been extracted, in 
 the cylinder extractor as few parts as possible are 
 made to revolve, and this is a decided advantage. 
 The labour necessary to overcome the inertia of 
 a large mass of material in starting and stopping 
 is saved, and the decreasing weight of the comb, 
 which is perceptible when it and its connections 
 only are revolved, is an indication to the operator 
 that the honey has been extracted. 
 
 For a given velocity, the nearer the comb is to 
 the centre of revolution the greater will be the 
 
 Fig. 116.— Cylinder Extractor 
 with Frame Inside. 
 
 Fig". 115. — Cylinder Honey 
 Extractor. 
 
 centrifugal force, but the honey in most of the 
 cells will tend to press against their sides as well 
 as leave them. To overcome this tendency the 
 combs should be placed at an infinite distance 
 from the centre of revolution. It is evident that 
 practice more than theory is what will decide the 
 best position for the combs, and from exhaustive 
 experiments, Mr. Cowan has concluded that the 
 outer surface of the comb should, during extrac- 
 tion, be placed 6 in. from the centre of the spindle 
 round which it revolves. He has also decided that 
 extractors which hold two combs at the time are 
 preferable to those which hold four or more. 
 
Honey Extractors, 123 
 
 The cylinder extractor, then, consists of four 
 distinct features : (1) the frame which holds and 
 carries the comb baskets, (2) the comb baskets, 
 (3) the cylinder, or barrel in which they revolve, 
 and (4) the driving gear, or crank. Fig. 115 is 
 a general view of the extractor ; Fig. 116 shows 
 the extractor complete with the frame inside, the 
 baskets being in place ; and Fig. 117 shows the 
 frames, baskets, and crank handle. 
 
 For the frame forming the first item in the list, 
 three sheets of tinplate, 17 in. by 12j in., are re- 
 quired. One of the sheets is cut into six strips 
 2 in. wide. The edges of tinplates are not always 
 true when they come from the shop, and should 
 
 Fig. 118.— Wired Tinplate. 
 
 Fig". 117. — Frames, Baskets, etc. 
 
 therefore be pared until straight. Three strips 
 should be joined together end to end, by turning 
 i in. at the ends over, hooking together, hammer- 
 ing down flat, and touching with solder, as before 
 described. These strips may now be cut to 45 in. 
 in length each, and wired at both edges with wire 
 about \ in. in diameter, about No. 10 gauge. 
 The wires are to be 44 in. long each. 
 
 The wiring is effected by turning the edges of 
 the tinplate over for a distance of nearly \ in. 
 by means of a mallet and the stake ; the wire is 
 then laid along the trough thus formed, and the 
 edge of the metal hammered down so as entirely 
 to envelop it. A good deal of tapping and some 
 practice are required to make a neat bead. 
 
 As the cage is likely to be often smeared with 
 
124 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 honey, which gets in between the wire and tin, 
 and there sets up fermentation, or becomes a con- 
 stant source of dirt, the following plan for pre- 
 venting this may be adopted if desired: Solder 
 the tin along outside the wire, so that a nicely 
 formed hollow is made, which can easily be kept 
 clean, and has no corners for dirt (see Fig. 118). 
 In this, as in every other part, use fine solder 
 containing a large proportion of tin. 
 
 It is best to do all wiring while the tin is in 
 the flat, not after it has been bent into shape. 
 
 Fig. 119. — Rectangular Band and Bridge. 
 
 The wire can be soldered in either before or after 
 the bending, but it is easier to do it before. The 
 tin is longer by 1 in. than the wire, but this should 
 not be turned over until a later stage of the work 
 is reached. 
 
 These wired strips of tin are now to be bent 
 so as to form two rectangular bands, 12 in. by 
 10 in. ; the overlapping inch at the ends forms a 
 good strong joint when thoroughly soldered. The 
 bending can be done with a wooden vice, such as 
 is usually found on a carpenter^s bench, and should 
 be as nearly as possible to a right angle, and the 
 frame or band should not be in winding, but lie 
 
Honey Extractors, 
 
 "S 
 
 flat on the bench ; the wired edge should be turned 
 outwards, leaving the inside surfaces flat. 
 
 Another sheet of tinplate must now be taken 
 in hand, and two pieces, 12 in. by 3^ in., cut off 
 across it. These must be wired at both edges, 
 with wires only 10 in. long placed in the middle, 
 leaving 1 in. at each end free of wire ; but the 
 turned over edges of tin may be hammered down 
 flat at the ends. The unwired ends may now be 
 
 AE EA 
 
 Figr. 120.— Pattern of Slide. 
 
 turned up sharp where the wire terminates, thus 
 forming a sort of tin stool 10 in. long, and with 
 legs 1 in. high. These are to be fastened with 
 solder and small rivets to the bands already made. 
 They will, of course, bridge the band the narrow 
 way, which is the only direction in which they will 
 fit, and be equidistant from each short side. Fig. 
 119 is a diagram of one of the bands and bridges 
 at its present stage. The bridges are for the 
 purpose of attaching the spindle. 
 
126 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 For the slides, cut four other pieces of tinplate, 
 16i in. by 3j in., and turn over and hammer down 
 \ in. slack at each long edge of the entire lot ; turn 
 up also \ in. at one short edge, or end, and 
 hammer down flat ; but before any of this turning 
 down is done it would be advisable to cut out 
 rectangular pieces at the corners, so as to pre- 
 vent the tin from being doubled too much. Fig 
 120 gives a pattern of a slide. The long edges 
 are doubled down along the lines A b, the short 
 one at c d. The long edges are to be then turned 
 up along the line E G, and left standing at right 
 angles to the broad part, and the short end along 
 the line G G, the whole thus forming a kind of 
 trough, open at one end, and having the other 
 end double the height of the sides. A touch of 
 solder in the corners will bind the edges firmly 
 together, and make the work stronger. The sharp 
 corners of the projecting end should also be nipped 
 off, and rounded nicely with a file. 
 
 The bands may now be connected together with 
 these slides, into which the comb baskets slip. 
 Place one of the bands on the bench with the 
 bridge up, and stand a slide, with the stopped end 
 down, at one of the corners, its back surface being 
 in contact with one of the long sides of the band, 
 and pushed up as tightly as possible towards the 
 corner. A small cramp and two pieces of wood 
 can be used to hold the two firmly together, while 
 the square is applied to see that the slide is at 
 right angles to the band. A little solder is then 
 run between the two, and a similar operation per- 
 formed with the three other slides. The upper 
 band can now be put over the ends of the four 
 vertical slides, and if the work has been done 
 carefully, it will be found to fit well, each slide 
 going right into its corner. If, however, things 
 are not true, the square can be applied, and the 
 erring slide or slides found, unsoldered from the 
 lower band, and set right. See that both bridges 
 
Honey Extractors, 127 
 
 are turned upwards so as not to form troughs 
 to hold the honey, which they might do if turned 
 the other way. Fig. 121 is a diagram of the work 
 at this stage. 
 
 Fig-. 121. — Bands, Slides and Bridgfes of Extractor. 
 
 Small rivets could be used as well as solder 
 to hold slides and bands together, but they are 
 scarcely necessary ; but if used, their heads must 
 not project into the slides, and hinder the baskets 
 from moving freely up and down. 
 
128 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 Instead of this framework, a box 10 in. square 
 and 15 in. high could be employed, having the 
 slides soldered on to two of the sides, while the 
 other two act as backs for the comb baskets. 
 This would be found by many an easier piece of 
 work, and possesses the additional advantage of 
 being easily cleaned, and affording few corners for 
 dirt to lodge in. 
 
 With regard to the comb baskets, half of one 
 of the baskets is shown by Fig. 122, which figure 
 
 Fi^. 122.- 
 
 -9^4 — ^ 
 
 -Half of Comb Basket. 
 
 is drawn from a point near the basket and be- 
 tween the sides. Each basket consists of a bottom 
 of wire netting, two sides of tinplate 1^ in. high, 
 and one end ; the other end is v/anting, as it will 
 form the top of the basket when in position. The 
 other half basket is exactly similar to this, but a 
 little narrower, so as to fit inside it, as can be 
 seen in the lower part of Fig. 123. The width of 
 the outer half of the basket is such as to fit easily 
 between the slides ; it may be 9| in. The distance 
 between the two nettings can be varied from l\ in. 
 
Honey Extractors. 129 
 
 to more than 2 in., as will be understood from 
 Fig. 123. 
 
 To make these baskets, the four pieces of 
 netting should first be procured, cut accurately, 
 two to 15 in. by 9| in., and the remaining two \ in. 
 narrower. They should then be bound round with 
 tinplate which overlaps | in. at each side. To do 
 this, lay the straight strips of metal, which will 
 be I in. wide, on the bench, and the edges of the 
 netting over them and halfway across. Then 
 solder each wire to the tin, turn the tin over, 
 and solder each wire to the turned-over part also, 
 using plenty of solder and heat, so as to have 
 every wire very firmly held in. By this means 
 the netting has a metal frame, which will greatly 
 strengthen it, and prevent it from sagging. Strips 
 
 A 
 
 "^ A 
 
 Fig. 123. — Section through Comb Basket. 
 
 of tinplate must now be soldered together to form 
 four long pieces 41 in. long by 2^ in. wide. The 
 edges of these are to be turned over and 
 hammered down to the extent of the usual \ in., 
 and one edge turned up at right angles, so that 
 a section of the strips will form an L, one leg of 
 which is \\ in., and the other \ in. Each strip 
 is then to be bent into such a shape as to form 
 the three sides of the half-basket shown in Fig. 
 122. In two of them the short side is 9| in. long, 
 and in the other two \ in. less. To bend the strips 
 it will be necessary to cut the narrow rib with a 
 chisel. 
 
 The framed netting can now be laid in position, 
 and soldered firmly against the narrow rib, so that 
 there are four thicknesses of tin round the netting. 
 I 
 
130 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 About f in. of the sides will project beyond the 
 limits of the netting ; this, in the wider pair, 
 should be turned over, and a short bit of wire put 
 in it to afford a hold when drawing out the 
 baskets. In the narrower pair some may be 
 clipped off, and about \ in. turned down, so as to 
 have a nice round edge at the top. 
 
 To use these baskets, the comb is uncapped at 
 both sides and laid on one half of the basket ; the 
 other half is then placed over the first, which it 
 fits, like the lid of a pasteboard box, and the 
 entire basket and comb is slipped down the slides 
 of the extractor, another comb being put into the 
 other basket and slides. The whole is then 
 whirled rapidly until the honey from one side of 
 the comb is extracted ; the baskets are then with- 
 drawn, and the other sides of the combs turned 
 outwards and extracted in like manner. 
 
 It is unfortunate that a hole must be cut out 
 of the end of each half of the comb basket, 
 so as to let the long top bar of the frames pass 
 through. This could be avoided, however, by 
 making slides and baskets an inch or so longer. 
 
 The spindle is not made until its exact 
 length is known (not until the case is made) yet 
 it is convenient here to describe its construction. 
 Any one of three kinds of spindle may be used ; 
 the most workmanlike would probably be J-in. 
 round iron or steel, tinned all over, or covered 
 with tinplate soldered on, or it might be a tinplate 
 tube, though this is nob recommended. In any 
 case, it passes through the bridges at their middle 
 points, or nearly so, in such a position as to make 
 the cages revolve truly and evenly. The lower 
 end is brought to a long cone, and works in metal 
 bearings soldered to the centre of the bottom of 
 the can. The top of the spindle takes either a 
 cranked handle or a toothed pinion, with which 
 it is driven. The tops of the cages should be 2 iij, 
 lower than the top of the can. 
 
Honey Extractors. 131 
 
 It will be necessary to put tin washers in the 
 bridges to strengthen the hold of the spindle. 
 They could be l4 in. in diameter, beaten saucer- 
 shaped, with a hole in the middle, through which 
 the spindle passes. After it has been soldered to 
 the bridges these washers could be placed over the 
 point, and attached both to the spindle and 
 bridges. It would be well to have the holes a 
 little small, and to turn out the edges until the 
 spindle can pass through. This will give a firmer 
 hold to the solder than the mere thickness of the 
 tinplate could afford. 
 
 For the cylinder itself, get a tinplate 55 in. by 
 26 in. ; the top and bottom should be wired with 
 J in. wire, and the edges turned over to form a 
 joint. The sheet is then to be bent into a cylinder, 
 and the joint made and soldered. A piece is next 
 to be cut for the bottom, and the edge turned up 
 i in. all round. The bottom, however, should 
 be slightly, say \ in., larger than the diameter of 
 the cylinder, as it is to be placed in it in a sloping 
 position, so as to allow all the honey to drain out 
 of the cylinder through a treacle valve, which is 
 placed in the lowest position (see Fig. 115). This 
 valve can be obtained from dealers in hive furni- 
 ture. The flange of the bottom will be turned 
 down, and firmly soldered to the sides of the 
 barrel. The centre of the bottom being ascer- 
 tained, a bearing for the lower end of the spindle 
 can be soldered in place either before or after the 
 bottom has been fixed ; the under surface of the 
 bearing is to be filed to an angle to suit the 
 bottom, so that its top surface is horizontal. 
 
 A couple of bands of hoop iron, \ in. thick and 
 Ij in. wide, riveted to the edges under the bead, 
 greatly strengthen the cylinder. To the top one, 
 attach the bolts (Fig. 124), which hold the bar 
 forming the top bearing for the spindle, one of 
 the bolts breaking the joint of the hoop. The bar 
 is fastened with fly nuts or hexagonal nuts. This 
 
132 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 bar is Ij in. by | in.— long enough to reach across 
 — with holes drilled for bolts, and one for spindle 
 to pass through. A plain short crank handle does 
 for driving, it being the simplest and cheapest. 
 
 The two wires shown crossing each other in 
 Fig. 1,7 (p. 123) should receive attention. They 
 are to prevent the network from bulging, and are 
 \ in. thick, fastened with solder to the framework 
 at their ends, and to each other in the middle. 
 The outer wire should be bent at the point of 
 juncture, so as to be flat against the network ; 
 otherwise, it would be of very little use. 
 
 If it is decided to use gearing wheels as shown 
 in Fig. 115, they can be bought cheaply. The pinion 
 
 c^^ 
 
 Fig. 124.— Bolfc for Cross-bar. 
 
 tits the spindle, and is keyed to it, and the toothed 
 wheel works on a stud riveted to the cross-bar. 
 The cross-bar would, in this case, require to be 
 somewhat stronger — say, \ in. thick. 
 
 The extractor is finished by the addition of a 
 couple of handles riveted to the sides, and covers, 
 of which there are two, one at each side of the 
 cross-bar. It is far easier to have the covers flat, 
 in which case the edges can be turned down, and 
 made to embrace the rim which fits into the 
 barrel. Inspection of an ordinary saucepan cover 
 will show how this can be done. 
 
133 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WAX EXTRACTORS. 
 
 Wax extractors, which follow honey extractors in 
 natural sequence, are not so indispensable as those 
 appliances. 
 
 Much wax extracting can be done with a simple 
 milk strainer and a saucepan. The strainer should 
 be about 8 in. in diameter and have a wire netting 
 bottom and sloping sides. The lower part of the 
 strainer should fit into the saucepan, the upper 
 part being supported clear of it. Put water in 
 the saucepan, affix the strainer, put the combs in 
 the latter, and put a cover (that of the saucepan 
 if it fits) over the top of the strainer. The whole 
 is then put on the range, where the water is 
 brought to the boil ; the steam will rise through 
 the strainer, and melt the wax, which passes 
 through to the water underneath, leaving any dirt 
 or refuse in the strainer. When all the wax is 
 extracted, the water is poured into a basin, and 
 the wax, when cool, will be found in a cake on 
 top. 
 
 This is very simple and inexpensive, and is on 
 the same principle as the Gerster extractor, except 
 that the wax does not there come into contact with 
 boiling water. 
 
 The solar extractor produces the best quality 
 of wax. It can be used only in the summer when 
 the sun is hot, but then it works of itself, and 
 costs nothing. It is a well-known physical fact 
 that glass is a trap for heat — that is, apparently 
 it lets it in, but will not let it out again. To be 
 more exact, it permits of the passage of luminous 
 rays of heat, but not of opaque. The direct rays 
 
134 Beehives and Bee Keepers* Appliances. 
 
 of the sun are luminous, but those which are 
 radiated from a comparatively dull substance are 
 opaque. For instance, in a greenhouse the heat 
 is found to be very much more oppressive than 
 in the hottest place outside. This principle is 
 utilised in the solar extractor (Fig. 125). The 
 appliance consists of a box formed with a sloping 
 top like a desk, the top being glazed with a 
 double thickness of glass as shown by Fig. 126. 
 The dimensions may vary considerably, but those 
 given in Fig. 125 will make a very useful and 
 practicable size, namely, length, 20 in. ; breadth, 
 12 in. ; height at back, 12 in. ; at front, 6 in. 
 
 Fig. 125.— Solar Wax Extractor. 
 
 It should be made of very sound and dry stuff, 
 preferably yellow pine, and it would be well to 
 dovetail it together at the corners. The bottom 
 should be grooved and tongued at the joint, or 
 else made of one piece of wood. It would be a 
 great improvement to line the whole structure with 
 tinplate, which would ensure its being wax-tight. 
 The top consists of a frame of 2 in. by 1 in. stuff 
 mortised together at the corners, and rebated to 
 take the glass, the rebate being f in. by J in. The 
 glass is to be placed in a slight bedding of soft 
 putty, and then a strip | in. by J in. is to be tacked 
 to the frame close up to the glass ; the other glass 
 is then to be put in a similar bedding of putty, 
 
Wax Extractors. 
 
 135 
 
 and another strip tacked on over all. The object 
 is to have the glass air-tight in the frame, and 
 this can easily be secured by a judicious use of 
 putty or white lead. The frame may now be 
 attached to the box by means of a couple of hinges 
 at the back, and two hooks in front will keep it 
 down close. 
 
 A tinplate shelf or tray is now to be made, the 
 length of the inside, and approaching within an 
 inch or so of the front. Three sides of this shelf 
 
 Finf. 126.— Glazing Top 
 of Solar Wax Extractor. 
 
 Fig. 127.— Foot of Solar 
 Extractor Stand. 
 
 are to be turned up for 1 in., as also the corners, 
 to get a touch of solder. Tray supports are now 
 to be affixed to the inside. If the box is lined 
 with tinplate, these supports would take the form 
 of pieces of tinplate soldered to the ends, and 
 turned up at right angles, like L iron. If, how- 
 ever, the extractor is not lined, strips of wood 
 tacked against the ends would do. The tray is 
 to slope slightly forward so that the wax will run 
 into the receptacle placed in front for it. The 
 strips which support it will be placed about half- 
 way up the ends. 
 
136 Beehives and Bee Keepers* Appliances, 
 
 Over the tray there is a sieve of tinned wire 
 netting, bound with tin, on which the combs to 
 be converted into wax are placed. This sieve is 
 \ in. from the tray, supported with tinplate strips 
 standing edgeways across it. The tinned edges 
 should be turned up for J in. to catch the comb 
 and prevent it from slipping off. 
 
 The box to catch the wax underneath is as long 
 as will fit between the tray supports, and may be 
 as wide as the extractor, or any less width. It is 
 made of tinplate with a wired top, and is, of 
 course, water- and wax-tight. Care should be 
 taken that the fluid wax will all flow into the 
 receptacle placed for it, and not flow over its ends 
 where it is not wanted. 
 
 A convenient stand for the solar extractor is 
 
 Fig. 128.— Revolving Top Fig. 129.— Washer and 
 
 of Wax Extractor. Screw. 
 
 shown by Fig. 127. To make it, get two pieces of 
 wood 2 ft. long by 2 in. square, and halve them 
 together in the middle. Now get another piece 
 15 in. long by 3 in. square, and round the upper 
 end for a distance of about 3 in. to 1^ in. in dia- 
 meter ; then cut the lower part to fit over the 
 junction of the cross pieces, and fix it to them 
 with one long spike driven from underneath, and 
 some smaller nails at the sides, having it at right 
 angles to the cross pieces. 
 
 The revolving top to the stand (see Fig. 128) 
 may next be taken in hand ; it may be any con- 
 venient size, and about 3 in. thick. The most 
 important item in its construction is the boring of 
 the hole, which is 1\ in. in diameter, and should be 
 exactly at right angles to the upper surface. It 
 is countersunk on top, so that the washer and 
 
Wax Extractors, 
 
 137 
 
 screw (Fig. 129) will be flush, or, if anything, 
 somewhat lower than the surface of the wood. 
 When the entire stand is put together, the ex- 
 tractor can be attached to it by means of four 
 
 C 
 
 <--.2 --> 
 
 <-\^A~- 
 
 — 10" -> 
 
 Fig. 130.— Section of Gerster Wax Extractor. 
 
 screws passing upwards into the bottom. The 
 object of the revolving part is, of course, to enable 
 the glass top to be turned, so as to catch the 
 direct rays of the sun. 
 
 The Gerster wax extractor, of which a section 
 
138 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 is given in Fig. 130, consists of four parts : (1) the 
 boiler; (2) the steamer; (3) the comb basket; (4) 
 the cover, or lid. It is hard to dish the covers 
 to a nice curve without special tools and blocks ; 
 and, consequently, it is better to buy a saucepan 
 cover for a few pence and make the other parts 
 of any piece of apparatus to suit the cover. Sup- 
 posing that the cover is 10 in. in diameter, the 
 boiler and steamer can be made the same size. 
 
 The boiler can be taken in hand first. It is 
 advisable to make it of copper, as it is then far 
 more lasting. If, however, tinplate is used, on no 
 account should acid be employed as a flux for the 
 solder, as it would soon eat its way through the 
 plates. The boiler may vary much in height, but 
 5 in., as shown in Fig. 130, is suitable. 
 
 The pipe A allows the height of the water in 
 the boiler to be seen without taking off the 
 steamer, which would be an awkward thing to do 
 often. This pipe is about 1 in. in diameter, and 
 has a cork or metal cap to cover the top. Instead 
 of it a U-shaped piece of tin could be soldered 
 over the hole in the boiler, and would be equally 
 efficacious. 
 
 The steamer is of the same external diameter 
 as the boiler. The bottom is in the form of a 
 cone, of which a pattern is given by Fig. 131, and 
 a rim of doubled tinplate is affixed to the lower 
 edge, small enough to fit into the boiler. It is 
 made just in the same manner as an ordinary 
 vegetable steamer, which will be a good guide in 
 its manufacture. The apex of the coned bottom 
 has a hole cut in it, the edge is slightly turned 
 up, and a l|-in. tinplate tube, 6 in. long, ia 
 soldered firmly to it. Another tube D is soldered 
 into the side, as low down as possible, so that 
 it will drain out all the contents of the steamer. 
 
 The comb basket is made of perforated tinplate, 
 one hundred holes to the inch. The cylindrical 
 part, 9i in. in diameter and 7 in. high, can first be 
 
Wax Extractors. 139 
 
 made. It may be necessary to give a rule for 
 cutting out the material for making hollow cylin- 
 ders such as this : Multiply the diameter by 3^, 
 and add what is required to make the joint. If a 
 plain overlapping joint is used, add the amount of 
 lap ; but if a hooked joint is used, three times the 
 length of the turned over parts should be added, 
 usually about j in. In the present case, a strip 
 of perforated tinplate, 29 J in. by 7f in., will form 
 
 Fig. 131.— Pattern for Cylindrical Top of Boiler. 
 
 the cylinder, the extra width being | in. for the 
 wiring on top, and J in. to make the joint at the 
 bottom. 
 
 The conical bottom of the basket has the same 
 slope as that of the steamer ; the same pattern 
 will do for both, except that the radius of the 
 basket pattern may be | in. less. A perforated 
 tinplate tube, similar to that in the steamer, but 
 4 in. larger, is fixed in the centre of the comb 
 basket ; but, while the tube in the steamer is open 
 
I40 Beehives and Bee Keepers' appliances, 
 
 at both ends, that in the basket is closed on top 
 with a piece of plain tinplate — the cover of a 
 coffee canister does capitally. 
 
 Three legs of doubled tinplate are soldered, 
 equidistant from each other, to the lower edges of 
 the comb basket so as to keep the bottom 1 in. 
 from that of the steamer. In Fig. 130 the three 
 parts as drawn are separated from each other, 
 but they would fit down into place in actual use. 
 
 To use the Gerster extractor, water is placed 
 in the boiler, which is then put over a fire ; the 
 combs are smashed up and put in the comb basket, 
 which is put into place, and the cover fits over 
 all, and keeps in the steam. Presently, when the 
 water begins to boil, the steam passes up through 
 the centre tube of the steamer, hits against the 
 closed top of the basket tube, and is disseminated 
 through the combs, which it soon reduces to a 
 fluid state. The wax and condensed steam run 
 through the tube D into a vessel placed for their 
 reception, while the dirt and refuse remain in the 
 comb basket. In Fig. 130, A and d indicate the 
 pipes ; B the boiler ; c the comb basket ; and s the 
 steamer. 
 
 The basket can be cleaned by a liberal appli- 
 cation of hot water in which washing soda has been 
 dissolved, and the point of a brush will take out 
 any stubborn pieces of dirt. 
 
 All pieces of apparatus should be kept scrupu- 
 lously clean. 
 
141 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 BEE keepers' miscellaneous APPLIANCES. 
 
 This, the concluding chapter, will concern itself 
 with a number of appliances more or less indis- 
 pensable to the bee keeper. 
 
 A bee feeder which has two wooden floats is 
 shown in plan by Fig. 132, and in vertical section 
 
 Fig. 13^. 
 
 Fig. 132. 
 
 Fig. 132.— Plan of Float Bee Feeder. Figs. 133 and 134.- 
 
 Sections of Bee Feeder. 
 
 by Fig. 133. First make a wooden box of any 
 size up to 14 in. long by 8 in. wide by 4 in. deep. 
 At a distance of -^-^ in. from the top, run round the 
 sides and one end a groove as shown at A (Figs. 
 133 and 134), into which the glass cover will slide 
 freely ; then at one end fix a partition c with J-in. 
 clearance at the bottom b (Fig. 133) and up to the 
 glass at the top. At d (Figs. 132 and 133) cut a 
 
142 Beehives and Bee Keepers^ Appliances, 
 
 hole about 3 in. by 2 in. through the bottom, and 
 in this hole fix a wooden funnel, which must be 
 kept \ in. below the glass at the top. The box 
 must be carefully put together, so that it will be 
 perfectly watertight, or a tin lining should be 
 provided as shown by the inner line on Figs. 133 
 and 134, and if this is used the centre funnel should 
 also have a further lining of perforated tin to 
 enable the bees to gain a foothold. Zinc should 
 not be used. The two floats E and f are made of 
 J-in. stuff pierced with a number of -^V^n. holes. 
 The bees pass up through d and over the top of 
 the funnel on to the floats, and the feeder is filled 
 
 Fig. 135. — Raynor Bee 
 Feeder. 
 
 Fig. 136.— Base for Bee 
 Feeder. 
 
 by sliding back the glass cover and pouring in 
 syrup at G. 
 
 A feeder of altogether different construction is 
 shown by Figs. 135 to 137. This is the Eaynor, 
 one of the best for all round purposes. It consists 
 of a bottle having a screw-on cap, which is per- 
 forated with a dozen holes in a semicircle in such 
 a way that one or more can be brought over the 
 circular slot which is shown in the stand (Fig. 
 136). A pointer soldered to the cap indicates the 
 number of holes which are uncovered to the bees 
 underneath. 
 
 Make the base of the feeders of hard wood, 
 
Bee Keepers' Miscellaneous Appliances. 143 
 
 turned to the section shown in Fig. 137. It may 
 be 6 or 7 in. across, and \\ in. high. The recess 
 in the top is made to fit the 2 lb. screw-top bottles, 
 which can be bought from all dealers in bee ap- 
 pliances. The top of the dome is turned to about 
 \ in. thick, a circle marked round while in the 
 lathe with the corner of the chisel, and the slot 
 \ in. wide, cut out with a narrow chisel and pen- 
 knife. 
 
 The slot is to be no more than half a circle. 
 The feeding bottle is then laid in place and holes 
 pricked through its cap through the slot of the 
 stand, with a darning-needle or fine awl. These 
 
 Fig". 187.— Section of 
 Bee Feeder Base. 
 
 Fig. 188.— Bee Feeder 
 with Square Base. 
 
 holes may be about a dozen in number, as may be 
 inferred from Fig. 136. A tinplate pointer must 
 be soldered to the cap, and numbers stamped on 
 the stand corresponding to the number of holes 
 open. 
 
 When the bottle is inverted, the syrup will not 
 run out of the holes, owing to the air pressure 
 and capillary attraction, but the bees can easily 
 suck the syrup through them. The dome can be 
 lined with cloth or chamois leather to keep it 
 snug, but this is not an essential. 
 
 When a stand is required al a moment^s notice, 
 use a piece of pine 5 in. square, and tack a slip 
 1 in. wide and | in. thick all round, as in Fig. 138. 
 
1-44 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 Then cut a hole right through the top large enough 
 to take a tin canister cover of the correct size, 
 and then flange this over and secure it in place 
 with a couple of tacks. Cut the slot in the tin 
 and make the holes in the bottle cap as before, and 
 the work is done. A pointer, of course, will be 
 needed as before. 
 
 The Hone dummy feeder is shown in section by 
 
 Fig". 139. — Section of Hone Dummy Feeder. 
 
 Fig. 139. A slit is cut in the dummy A to enable the 
 bees to take the syrup, which is contained in an 
 oblong tin box b with perforated edge placed at the 
 back. The slot in the dummy is 6 in. long, and 
 the tin box 8 in. by 5 in. by 2 in. ; twelve holes c 
 are made along the lower edge opposite the slit, 
 and a screw plug d and leather washer keep the hole 
 through which the tin is filled perfectly tight. The 
 
Bee Keepers Miscellaneous Appliances. 145 
 
 tin is kept in place by two pieces of wood 2 in. by 
 5 in. by | in., nailed edgeways to the dummy, and 
 two other pieces 5 in. by 1 in. by \ in., nailed to 
 the backs of these, so that \ in. embraces the back 
 of the tin. The whole works like the female por- 
 tion of a slide. A small strip E underneath pre- 
 vents the tin from going too low. If the screw cap 
 is an objection, it could be replaced by a tube and 
 good cork, an indiarubber stopper being still 
 better. For spring feeding, when only a small 
 quantity of syrup is required to be given at a 
 time, some of the holes in this feeder may be 
 plugged up with wax. 
 
 Fig. 140. — Rapid Bee Feeder. 
 
 The principal objection to the feeders shown by 
 Figs. 135, 138, and 139 is that they must be fre- 
 quently attended to, on account of the small quan- 
 tity of syrup which they contain. This defect has 
 been overcome in the American rapid feeders, of 
 which there are many in the market. The float 
 feeder, the first appliance described in this 
 chapter, is also free from this defect. 
 
 Fig. 140 is a general view and Fig. 141 a cross 
 section of one of these American rapid feeders. 
 It consists of a trough holding about 10 lbs. of 
 syrup. This is supported over the brood nest by 
 the ends and a pair of supplementary sides, which 
 allow the bees free access to the top of the trough 
 without permitting them to escape, a thin board 
 acting as a cover. The vertical lines in Fig. 141 in- 
 
146 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 dicate a sort of ladder made of very thin wood, 
 its object being to prevent the bees being drowned 
 in the trough. 
 
 To make this feeder, two pieces of clean pine 
 lOj in. by 4| in. by 1 in. are prepared for the ends. 
 Rebates \\ in. wide by | in. deep are then cut 
 round three sides of each. Two pieces 14 in. by 
 3J in., and one 14 in. by 9| in. by | in., are got for 
 the sides and bottom of the trough. This may be 
 now completed by nailing the sides and bottom to 
 the rebated parts of the ends forming a trough 8j 
 in. wide and 3j in. deep, and with the ends pro- 
 jecting I in. beyond the sides and bottom. The 
 outer sides, which are 14| in. by 4| in. by \ in., are 
 now nailed to the projecting parts of the ends, 
 which will leave a space of | in. between the sides 
 of the trough and these outer sides. If the whole 
 structure be now laid upon a table, it will be 
 found that the bottom of the trough is | in. from 
 the surface of the table. A partition is now 
 placed 1 in. from the end of the trough to form a 
 filling space. This partition is pierced with \ in. 
 holes, so that when the syrup is poured into the 
 smaller compartment, it will run into the larger, 
 which can thus be filled without removing its 
 cover. The cover is made of \ in. stuff of such a 
 size as to cover the larger compartment, that is, 
 lOi in. by 13 in., and two little cleats are put on to 
 prevent it from warping. 
 
 If an examination is now made, it will be found 
 that the bees can crawl up between the inner and 
 outer sides of the feeder and over the side of the 
 trough into the food. A careful examination at 
 this stage will show the course the bees will take ; 
 and if any passage is less than | in., it should be 
 enlarged. The top edge of the trough will 
 evidently be | in. lower than the sides of the 
 feeders and the under surface of the cover. The 
 bees could at this stage find their way into the 
 smaller or filling compartment through small 
 
Bee Keepers^ Miscellaneous Appliances, 147 
 
 spaces which communicate with the hives. These 
 are now stopped up with scraps of wood tacked 
 over them, and a long narrow strip of glass is cut 
 to cover the compartment. 
 
 The ladder (see Fig. 141) which enables the bees 
 to take the food without the risk of being drowned 
 can now be made. The best material to employ 
 is the wooden dividers used to separate the 
 sections in a section crate. They can be cut 12 
 in. by 3|- in., and seventeen or eighteen of them 
 will be required. Twice as many pieces of wood | 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 B 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 B 
 D 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 B 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 ' 
 
 i'l 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 Fig. 141. —Section of Rapid Bee Feeder. 
 
 in. thick by about J in. by Ij in. will also be re- 
 quired. One of the thin dividers is then taken 
 and marked with a pencil 3^ in. from each end. 
 A couple of the small pieces of the wood are then 
 laid on these marks and equidistant from the edges 
 of the divider ; another divider is then laid on top, 
 and a tack through each thick piece secures the 
 three together ; another couple of thick pieces are 
 put next, again a thin one, and the tacking con- 
 tinued as before until the pile is high enough 
 to fit the breadth of the trough. The thin wood 
 dividers of which this ladder is made are kept 
 i in. apart by the little blocks between. The out- 
 
148 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances, 
 
 side dividers will, when in place, be | in. from 
 the sides of the trough, being kept so far away 
 by similar blocks. To prevent the ladder from 
 floating in the syrup, a couple of little wooden 
 buttons attached to the sides of the trough can 
 be turned over it, while two strips \ in. thick are 
 tacked to the bottom of the trough on the inside 
 to enable the syrup to flow freely to every part. 
 This is an excellent feeder. It takes the place of 
 the section crate, but of course is only suitable for 
 use in the autumn, when stocks have to b€ fed 
 up rapidly before the winter. 
 
 Fig. 142.— Bennett's Self-hiver. 
 
 A self-hiver for conducting a surplus swarm 
 from its old quarters to a new hive is of the great- 
 est advantage. That shown by Fig. 142 is known 
 as the Bennett, and its position with reference to 
 the hives must first be understood. One of the 
 hives shown contains the stock of bees which is 
 expected to swarm, while the other is the empty 
 hive containing frames, foundation, quilts, and 
 possibly comb and honey, into which it is desired 
 to lead the swarm. The inventor has described 
 as follows how this useful appliance is made : — 
 First get a thin board of i in. stuff 2 ft. long and 
 6 in. wide (any size can be adopted at the dis- 
 
Bee Keepers^ Miscellaneous Appliances. 149 
 
 cretion of the maker). Obtain also a piece of 
 queen excluder zinc, same length as the board, 
 and 9 in. wide, and bend If in. on each side, along 
 the whole length of the zinc, and tack the bottoms 
 of the bent sides along the edges of the board. 
 Nail along each of these sides a thin strip of wood 
 j in. wide, so forming a sort of square tunnel — 
 2 ft. long, 6 in. wide, and \\ in. deep, with both 
 ends open, and a sort of miniature alighting board 
 along its sides. Place an empty hive in front of 
 the one expected to swarm, draw apart the slides 
 to form an entrance 6 in. wide, and put the cage 
 
 Alley's Self-hiver. 
 
 or tunnel on the entrance board of each hive, the 
 open ends of the cage being in front of the en- 
 trances of both hives. 
 
 With regard to the practical working of the 
 Bennett self-hiver, one bee keeper reports that it 
 did splendidly, the swarm settling down quietly 
 in its new home. In another case the swarm 
 went off, leaving the queen in the tunnel vainly 
 trying to follow. When she found that she could 
 not leave, she returned to the parent hive, and the 
 swarm joined her there. When the same swarm 
 issued again, and the queen tried to get through 
 the excluder zinc, the owner removed the empty 
 hive and tunnel, and stopped up the open end of 
 
X50 Beehives and Bee Keepers' Appliances. 
 
 the latter with paper, so that the queen had per- 
 force to enter the empty hive. The swarm soon 
 joined her there, and took to their new quarters 
 readily. 
 
 Alley's self-hiver (Fig. 143) is on the same prin- 
 ciple, the only difference being that the tunnel 
 leads to another hive at the side of the swarming 
 one, instead of in front. It does not promise, 
 
 H4. — Front View of Swarm Catcher. 
 
 however, as well as Bennett's, there being so many 
 corners and angles in it. 
 
 A swarm catcher for a beehive is shown in front 
 view by Fig. 144, and in section by Fig. 145, in 
 which A is the beehive, the swarm catcher being 
 attached to it by means of two iron plates with 
 screws at c. b is the alighting board of the hive. 
 The swarm catcher D consists of a box made to 
 
Bee Keepers^ Miscellaneous Applianc^!s, 151 
 
 take three standard frames E (Fig. 145), which are 
 fitted with full sheets of brood foundation. The 
 
 M ^ / N 
 
 TznzzzzzSim 
 
 ^^'^^ 
 
 Fig". 145. — Section of Swarm Catcher. 
 
 bottom of the catcher is extended about 3 in. in 
 advance of the front, as shown at f (Fig. 145), to 
 form an alighting board for the swarm. A. hole 
 
 I 
 
 w/ w/j/ii/i/iwr ° 
 
 Fig. 146.— Hive Entrance with Flexible Sprinffs. 
 
 G about 6 in. by 4 in. is cut in the front of the 
 catcher, and is covered- with queen excluder zinc. 
 
152 Beehives and Bee Keeper^ Appliances, 
 
 and a slot, 7 in. long by \ in. wide, is cut in the 
 bottom at H. Two triangular pieces i (Fig. 145) 
 are cut to the shape shown, and nailed to the 
 bottom of the catcher on each side at J (Fig. 144), 
 and the space between them is covered with ex- 
 cluder zinc K (Figs. 144 and 145). A lid L is fitted 
 to the top of the catcher to keep in the swarm 
 and to keep the bees dry in case of rain. 
 
 The method of working this catcher is as 
 follows: — When the swarm issues through the 
 flight hole M, the workers pass through the ex- 
 cluder zinc K, but as the queen cannot pass this, 
 
 Fig, 147 —Pipe-cover Queen Bee Cage. 
 
 she walks up k and passes through h into the 
 catcher, where the bees forming the swarm join 
 her. In the evening the parent hive is moved 
 about a yard away, and the combs in the catcher 
 are put into a new hive with the swarm, together 
 with four more combs, one of which should, if 
 possible, contain brood. 
 
 In some swarm catchers the bottom slots of 
 the excluder zinc N (Figs. 144 to 146) are cut away, 
 and a number of very flexible brass springs are 
 fixed across the entrance, to enable the workers 
 to enter the hive without hindrance when return- 
 ing home loaded with pollen. The arrangement 
 of these will be clear from Fig. 146» in which M 
 
Bee Keepers^ Miscellaneous Appliances, 153 
 
 indicates the entrance to the hive, k the excluder 
 Einc, B the alighting board, the springs, and N 
 the entrance under the excluder zinc. 
 
 • Queen cages are often a necessity ; the simplest 
 of them is, perhaps, the pipe-cover queen cage, 
 shown by Fig. 147. It can be made as follows: — 
 Get a strip of tinplate 6^ in. long and 1 in. 
 wide ; make it into a ring and solder the ends to- 
 gether. Obtain a circular piece of wire gauze or 
 
 Fig. liy. — Door or Spring 
 for Queen Bee Cage. 
 
 Fig. 148.— Another Type of Queen Cage. 
 
 perforated tinplate, 2 in in diameter, and solder 
 it on as a top, and the cage is complete. 
 
 A disadvantage of this cage is that the bees 
 must be disturbed in releasing the queen. This 
 difi&culty is overcome in the cage shown by Fig. 
 148. It consists of a rectangular cage, formed of 
 perforated tinplate or wire gauze. Its dimensions 
 are: Length, 4 in. or 5 in. ; width, \\ in. ; thick- 
 ness, \ in. A piece of metal, 3| in. wide and as 
 long as the cage, bent over a piece of wood \\ in. 
 by \ in., will just make it. A flange is then made 
 
154 Beehives and Bee KeepMrs' Appliances^ 
 
 of plain tinplate for the top. This may be about 
 2-J in. by \\ in., having a hole \\ in. by \ in. in its 
 centre, into which the cage fits and is soldered, 
 leaving a little bit projecting at the back, which is 
 turned over a pin and acts as a hinge for the top 
 door. This may now be made of tinplate \\ in. 
 by i in.— a hinge formed at the back by turning 
 up the tinplate over a fine piece of wire or a 
 pin, and fitted to the part of the cage projecting 
 above the flange. 
 
 A door for the bottom can be made of wire, 
 bent into the form of Fig. 149, the two wires 
 being \ in. apart, and the distance being \\ in. 
 from centre to centre of the loops, that is, from 
 the single loop at the left to the line joining 
 
 Ficr. 150. 
 
 Fig. 151. 
 Figs. 150 and 151. — Driving Irons. 
 
 the pair of loops to the right. This door may now 
 be fastened to the cage by passing a pin through 
 the lower right-hand corner of the cage, so as also 
 to pass through the two loops of the door. Some 
 provision should be made, either by washers or a 
 couple of twists of fine wire, to keep the door in 
 the centre of the cage ; otherwise it might move 
 against the side, and allow the bees to have access 
 to the imprisoned queen. A light wire hooked on 
 to the front loop, and passing with slight friction 
 through a hole in the flange, completes the cage. 
 The queen is released by pressing down this wire, 
 which projects about an inch above the flange, and 
 ends in a loop. 
 
 Driving irons are shown by Figs 150 and 151. 
 It would be advisable to make a great number of 
 
Bee Keepers^ Miscellaneous Appliances, 155 
 
 sets, as they are easily lost. They are made of 
 wire nearly \ in. thick ; the loops in Fig. 150 are 
 9 in. apart, and the ends about \\ in. long, roughly 
 pointed with a file. About 20 in. of wire are re- 
 quired for the form shown by Fig. 150, and two 
 
 Fij3f 152. — Bingham Knife. 
 
 like that and one like Fig. 151 complete a set ; 
 the latter is about 9 in. long, and the loop 2 in. 
 diameter. It requires 15 in. of wire. 
 
 The making of a Bingham knife (Fig. 152) is not 
 to be undertaken, except the manufacturer has 
 special facilities for that 'kind of work. The blade 
 is made of good saw steel, 6 or 7 in. long and from 
 2 in. to 3 in. wide, shaped to the pattern shown, 
 and sharpened all round like a chisel, from the 
 under side only. A tang is made of | in. iron or 
 steel, one end being pointed to fit the handle and 
 the other flattened so as to be riveted to the blade. 
 The two rivets should be countersunk into the 
 under side of the blade and ground flush with its 
 surface; when the blade is laid flat on a board, 
 
 Fig. 153.— Comb Cutter. 
 
 the handle is raised about an inch from it, and the 
 tang should be bent in such a manner as to 
 secure this. The knife is not unlike a mason's 
 trowel. 
 
 An appliance for cutting passages through the 
 
156 Beehives and Bee Keepers* Appliances, 
 
 combs on the approach of winter is illustrated by 
 Fig. 153. It is simply a tinplate cylinder about 
 1 in. in diameter and 4 in. or 5 in. long, having 
 one end serrated so as to cut the comb more 
 easily. Near the other end two wire lugs are 
 soldered to afford a better hold to the fingers, as 
 shown in Fig. 153. 
 
 The Cheshire transferring board, shown by Fig. 
 154, affords facilities for transferring the combs 
 cut from a skep to a bar-framed hive. The table 
 proper consists of sixteen tongues projecting from 
 a back support about 10 in. To make it, a piece 
 of wood about 16 in. long, 3 in. wide, and 1 in. 
 
 Fig. 154. — Cheshire Transferring Board. 
 
 thick is planed quite flat and out of winding, the 
 under surface being especially true. The tongues 
 are all cut out of a piece of yellow pine 13 in. 
 long, 1 in. thick, and about 11 in. wide. Fig. 155 
 is a view of the end of this piece of wood, showing 
 how the tongues may be cut out. Of course, it 
 will require care to cut the bevels to the proper 
 angle, but any want of accuracy in the saw can be 
 rectified by the trying plane. The dimensions of 
 each tongue, when j&nished, will be : length, 13 in. ; 
 top width, i in. ; bottom width, \ in. ; depth, 1 in. 
 The tongues must be nailed or, preferably, 
 screwed to the back piece, each tongue being at 
 right angles to the back, and the edges J in. apart. 
 It is desirable to fill up the spaces between the 
 
Bee Keepers^ Miscellaneous Appliances. 157 
 
 tongues immediately underneath the support of the 
 back with pieces of wood nicely fitted in. 
 
 The legs may be either fixed or folding, but in 
 any case they will be cut to the shape shown in 
 Fig. 154, the height being 6 in. or 8 in. ; length 
 from front to back, 12 in. ; and thickness of the 
 wood, 1 in. If they are folding, hinges should 
 secure them to the back support, strap or butt 
 hinges 3 in. wide doing the business very well. 
 The outside surface of the legs is quite flush with 
 the outer edge of the last tongue, and to prevent 
 
 Fig. 155. — Cutting Tongues from Board. 
 
 the leg shutting up when not wanted, a hook and 
 eye, such as is used to hold the first door of a 
 cupboard, is fitted, the hook being secured to the 
 leg and the eye screwed into the surface of the 
 tongue. This is shown at the right-hand side to- 
 wards the back of Fig. 154. A tinplate tray to 
 fill the space between the legs is necessary to 
 catch any honey which may drop from the combs 
 during manipulation. As the transferrer will be 
 always exposed to the smearing of honey, it would 
 be well to give it several coats of a hard varnish, 
 which will make the surface washable. The bee 
 keeper should always aim at perfect cleanliness. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbot's Broad - shouldered 
 
 Frame, 49 
 Alley's Self-hiver, 150 
 American Jointed Frame, 52 
 Rapid Feeder, 145 
 
 Bar-frame Beebive, 9—18 
 
 Brood Chamber, 14 
 
 Floor Board, 13 
 
 , Furnishing, 48 
 
 Lift, 16 
 
 , Materials for, 26 
 
 Porch, 15 
 
 Roof, 16 
 
 , Tiering, 25—40 {for 
 
 details see Tiering Bar -frame 
 Beehive) 
 
 Ventilation, 17 
 
 Basket, Comb, for Gerster Ex- 
 tractor, 138 
 
 B.B.K.A. Standard Frame, 49 
 
 Bee Escape, Cone, 17 
 
 ^ Porter, 98 
 
 Feeder, American, 145 
 
 , Float, 141 
 
 , Hone Dummy, 144 
 
 , Rapid, 145 
 
 , Raynor, 142 
 
 Smokers, 102—115 
 
 *' Bee-space," 11 
 
 Bellows for Bee Smoker, 108 
 
 Springs, Bee Smoker, 108 
 
 Bennett's Self-hiver, 148 
 Bingham Bee Smoker, 102 
 
 Knife, 155 
 
 Blast Pipe for Clarke Smoker, 
 
 115 
 
 , Cone, 107 
 
 Block for Wiring Frame, 54 
 Body-box of Queen Bee Hive, 
 
 91—92 
 
 Tiering Bar-frame 
 
 Beehive, 31 
 
 W.B.C. Beehive, 44 
 
 Boiler of Gerster Wax Ex- 
 tractor, 138 
 
 Bolt for Cross-bar, 131 
 
 Bracket, Porch, 39 
 
 Broad-shouldered Frames, 50 
 
 Brood Chamber, 14 
 
 Lining, 17 
 
 for Observatory Bee- 
 hive, 69 
 
 Brood Chamber for W.B.C. Bee 
 
 hive, 44 
 " Brood Nest," 12 
 
 Cages, Queen, 152—154 
 
 Case, Beehive Inspection, 84— 
 
 88 
 Catcher, Swarm, 150—152 
 Chamber, Brood, 14 
 
 , , Lining of, 17 
 
 , Surplus, 12 
 
 Cheshire Transferring Board, 
 
 156 
 Clarke Smoker, 112 
 
 Blast Pipe, 115 
 
 Diaphragm, 114 
 
 Fire-box, 113 
 
 ■ Funnel, 114 
 
 Cleaning Basket of Gerster Ex- 
 tractor, 140 
 
 Clearers, Super, 96—101 
 Comb Basket for Gerster Wax 
 Extractor, 138 
 
 Baskets, 128 
 
 Cutter, 153, 154 
 
 Combination Hives, 11 
 Coned Blast Pipe, 107 
 Cones, Bee, 17, 96, 97 
 Crates, 65 
 
 Crossbar Bolt, 131 
 
 Cylinder Honey Extractor, 123 
 
 Diaphragm of Clarke Smoker, 
 
 114 
 Divider, Section, 66 
 Driving Irons, 154 
 " Dummy," 61, 62 
 Feeder, 144 
 
 for Queen Bee Hive, 94 
 
 " Eke " for Increasing Height 
 of Lift, 30 
 
 W.B.C. Beehive, 45 
 
 Embedder, 56 
 
 made with Floor Brad, 57 
 
 , Woiblet Spur, 57 
 
 End Spacers, Staples used as. 
 61 
 
 , Cast Metal, 59 
 
 , Howard, 59 
 
 , W.B. Tinplate, 59 
 
 Entrance Slides, 39 
 Escape, Cone, 17, 96 
 
Index, 
 
 159 
 
 Escape, Porter, 98 
 Excluder, Queen, 63 
 Extractor, Cylinder, 123 
 
 , Gerster, 133 
 
 , Honey. 116—132 
 
 , Little Wonder, 116 
 
 , Solar, 133 
 
 , Wax, 133—140 
 
 Feeder, American Rapid, 145 
 
 , Float, 141 
 
 , Hone Dummy, 144 
 
 , Rapid, 145 
 
 . Raynor, 142 
 
 Feeding Syrup, 67 
 
 Fire Box of Clarker Smoker, 
 113 
 
 Float Bee Feeder, 141 
 
 Floor Bearer for Tiering Bar- 
 frame Beehive, 35 
 
 Board, 13 
 
 , Observatory Beehive, 
 
 68 
 
 , Tiering Bar-frame 
 
 Beehive, 34, 45 
 
 Brad, Embedder made 
 
 with, 57 
 
 for Tiering Bar-frame Bee- 
 hive, 35 
 
 Folding Section, 65 
 Foundation, Fixing, in Frame, 
 54 
 
 , Section with, 64 
 
 Frame-box for W.B.C. Beehive, 
 
 44 
 Frames, Abbot's Broad-shoul- 
 dered, 50 
 
 , American Jointed, 52 
 
 , B.B.K.A., 49 
 
 , Block, for Wiring, 54 
 
 , Broad-shouldered, 50 
 
 , Fixing Foundation in, 54 
 
 , Handle for Lifting, 88 
 
 , Hoffman Self-spacing, 59 
 
 , Hooks for Lifting, 88 
 
 for Observatory Beehive, 
 
 72 
 
 , Self-spacing, 59 
 
 , Shoulderless, 50 
 
 , Standard, 49 
 
 , Wax Sheet fixed in, 54 
 
 with W.B.C. Metal Ends, 
 
 50 
 
 Funnel for Bingham Smoker, 
 103 
 
 Clarke Smoker, 114 
 
 Furnishing Beehive, 48—66 
 
 Gauge-board, 56 
 Gerster Extractor, 133 
 
 Boiler, 138 
 
 Comb Basket, 138 
 
 Steamer, 138 
 
 Gerster Extractor, Using, 140 
 Guide-board, 56 
 
 Handle for Lifting Frames, 88 
 Hatchet Stake, 103 
 Hoffman Self-spacing Frame, 59 
 Hone Dummy Feeder, 144 
 Honey Extractor, Cylinder, 123 
 
 , Little Wonder, 116 
 
 , Marketing, 64 
 
 Hooks for Lifting Frames, 88 
 Howard Tinplate End, 59 
 
 Inspection Case for Beehives, 
 
 84—88 
 Irons, Driving, 154 
 
 Joint, Tongue-and-groove, 34 
 
 Knife, Bingham, 155 
 
 Legs for Stand of W.B.C. Hive, 
 
 45 
 Lift, Beehive, 16 
 for Observatory Beehive, 
 
 72 
 
 Tiering Bar-frame 
 
 Beehive, 36 
 
 W.B.C. Beehive, 43 
 
 Little Wonder Honey Extractor, 
 
 116 
 Lining of Brood Chamber, 17 
 
 Makeshift Hives. 19-24 
 Marketing Honey, 64 
 Metal Ends for Frames. 50, 59 
 Mounting Observatory Bee- 
 hives, 83 
 
 Nest, Brood, 12 
 
 " Neucleus " Hives, 20 
 
 Observatory Beehive Brood 
 Chamber, 69 
 
 Floor-board, 68 
 
 Frames, 72 
 
 Internal Frame, 74 
 
 Interior Fittings. 72 
 
 Lift, 72 
 
 , Mounting, 83 
 
 , Permanent, 69—73 
 
 Porch, 72 
 
 Quilt Covering, 73 
 
 Roof, 72 
 
 , Stocking, 80 
 
 Super, 73 
 
 , Temporary, 74—83 
 
 Pine's Cast Metal End, 49 
 Pipe, Cone Blast, 107 
 Pipe-cover Queen Bee Cage, 152 
 Porch for Beehive, 15 
 
 Brackets, 39 
 
 for Observatory Beehive, 
 
 72 
 
 Temporary Hives, 25 
 
i6o Beehives and Bee Keepers* Appliances, 
 
 Porch for W.B.C. Beehive, 41 
 Porter Bee Escape, 98 
 
 Queen Bee Cages, 152—154 
 Rearing Hive, P9— 95 
 
 Excluder, 63 
 
 Quilts, 64, 73 
 
 Rapid Bee Feeder, 145 
 Raynor Bee Feeder, 142 
 Regulating Slides, 17 
 Roof for Beehive, 16 
 
 Gables, Beehive, 37 
 
 for Observatory Beehive, 
 
 72 
 
 Temporary Hive» 22 
 
 Tiering Bar-frame 
 
 Beehive, 37 
 
 W.B.C. Beehive, 43 
 
 Wings, Beehive, 38 
 
 Section Divider, 66 
 , Folding, 65 
 
 with Foundation, 64 
 
 Sections, Crate for, 65 
 Self-hiver, 148 
 
 , Alley's, 150 
 
 , Bennett's, 148 
 
 Self-spacing Frame, 59 
 
 Slides, Entrance, for Tiering 
 Bar-frame Beehive, 39 
 
 , Regulating, 17 
 
 Smoker, 102—115 
 
 , BelloviTs for, 108 
 
 , Bingham, 102 
 
 , Clarke, 112 
 
 Diaphragm, 106 
 
 Solar Wax Extractor, 133 
 
 Spacing Frames, 60 
 
 Spring for Queen Bee Cage, 154 
 
 Springs for Bellows of Bee 
 Smokers, 108 
 
 Spur Embedder, Woiblet, 57 
 
 Stake, Hatchet, 103 
 
 Stand for Queen Bee Hive, 94 
 
 W.B.C. Hive, 45 
 
 Standard Frame, 49 
 
 Staples Used as End Spacers, 
 61 
 
 Steamer for Gerster Wax Ex- 
 tractor, 138 
 
 Stocking Beehive, 66, 67 
 
 Observatory Beehive, 80 
 
 Super-clearers, 96—101 
 
 *' Supers," 12 
 
 ■ for Observatory Beehives, 
 
 73 
 
 " Supers," Removing, 101 
 
 for W.B.C. Beehives, 44 
 
 Surplus Chambers, 12 
 Swarm Catcher, 150—152 
 Syrup, Feeding, 67 
 
 Temporary Beehive, 19—24 
 
 Porch, 23 
 
 Roof, 22 
 
 Observatory Beehive, 74— 
 
 83 
 
 Tiering Bar-frame Beehive, 25— 
 40 
 
 Body-box, 34, 35 
 
 Entrance Slides, 
 
 39 
 
 Floor-bearer, 35 
 
 Gables, 37 
 
 Lift, 36 
 
 Main Floor, v35 
 
 , Materials for, 26 
 
 Roof, 37 
 
 Hives, 11 
 
 Tinplate End, W.B.C, 59 
 Tongue-and-groove Joint, 34 
 Transferring Board, 156 
 
 Unicomb Beehive, Temporary. 
 74 ^ 
 
 Ventilation of Beehive, 17 
 
 Wax Extractors, 133—140 
 
 , Gerster, 133, 137 
 
 , Solar, 133 
 
 Sheet, Fixing, in Frame, 
 
 54 
 "W.B.C." Beehive, 41—47 
 
 Body-box, 44 
 
 Brood Chamber, 44 
 
 Eke, 45 
 
 Frame-box, 44 
 
 Lift, 43 
 
 Parts, 41 
 
 Porch, 41 
 
 Roof, 43 
 
 Stand, 43 
 
 Super, 44 
 
 Metal Ends, 50, 59 
 
 Wings, Beehive Roof, 38 
 Wiring Frame to receive 
 
 Foundation, 55 
 
 Block, 54 
 
 Woiblet Spur Embedder, 57 
 Wood for Beehive Construction, 
 
 Printed by Cassell & Co., Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, B.C. 
 20.607 
 
HANDICRAFT SHRIJEiS (continued). 
 
 Electro- Plating. With Numerous Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Introduction. Tanks, Vats, and other Apparatus. Batteries, 
 Dynamos, and Electrical Accessories. Appliances for Preparing and Finishing 
 Work. Silver-Plating, Copper-Plating. Gold-PIating. Nickel-Plating and 
 Cycle- Plating. Finishing Electro-Plated Goods. Electro-Plating with Various 
 Metals and Alloys. Index. 
 
 Clay Modelling and Plaster Casting. With 153 Engravings and 
 
 Diagrams. 
 
 Violins and Other Stringed Instruments. With about 180 
 
 Illustrations. 
 G>«/^«/^.— Materials and Tools for Violin Making. Violin Moulds. Violin 
 Making. Varnishing and Finishing Violins. Double Bass and a Violoncello. 
 Japanese One-string Violin. Mandolin Making. Guitar Making. Banjo 
 Making. Zither Making. Dulcimer Making. Index. 
 
 Glass Writing, Embossing, and Fascia Work. (Including 
 
 the Making and Fixing of Wood Letters and Illuminated Signs.) With 
 
 129 Illustrations. 
 Contents.— V\3i\n Lettering and Simple Tablets. Gold Lettering. Blocked 
 Letters. Stencil Cutting. Gold Etching. Embossing. French or Treble 
 Embossing. Incised Fascias, Stall-plates, and Grained Background. Letters 
 in Perspective ; Spacing Letters. Arrangement of Wording and Colors. Wood 
 Letters. Illuminated Signs. Temporary Signs for Windows. Imitation 
 Inlaid Signs. Imitation Mosaic Signs. Specimen Alphabets. Index. 
 
 Photographic Chemistry. With 31 Engravings and Diagrams. 
 
 Photographic Studios and Dark Rooms. With 180 Illus- 
 trations. 
 
 Contents. — Planning Studios. Building Studios. Portable and Temporary 
 Studios. Studios Improvised from Greenhouses, Dwelling Rooms, etc. 
 Lighting of Studios. Backgrounds. Scenic Accessories. Dark-Rooms. Portable 
 Dark-Rooms. Dark-Room Fittings. Portable Dark Tent. Index. 
 
 Motor Bicycle Building. With 137 Illustrations and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Frame for Motor Bicycle. Patterns for Frame Castings. Build- 
 ing Frame from Castings. Making 3^ H. P. Petrol Motor. Spray Carburettor 
 for 3^ fi. P. Motor. Ignition Coils for Motor Cycles. Light-weight Petrol 
 Motor for Attachment to Roadster Bicycle. Spray Carburettor for Light- 
 weight Motor. Index. 
 
 Rustic Carpentry. With 172 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Light Rustic Work, Flower Stands, Vases, etc. Tables, Chairs 
 and Seats. Gates and Fences. Rosery Work, Porch, Swing Canopy Aviary, 
 Footbridges Verandahs. Tool Houses, Garden Shelters, etc. Summer Houses, 
 Dovecot. Index. 
 
 Pumps and Ramsl Their Action and Construction. 
 
 With 171 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Suction Pumps and Lift Pumps. Making Simple Suction Pumps. 
 Pump Cup Leathers, Pump Valves, Ram or Plunger Pumps. Making Bucket 
 and Plunger Pump. Construction of Plumbers' Force Pump, Wooden Pumps, 
 Small Pumps for Special Purposes, Centrifugal Pumps, Air Lift, Mammoth, 
 and Pulsometer Pumps, Hydraulic Rams. Index. 
 Domestic Jobbing. With 107 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Cutlery Grinding, Sharpening and Repairing. Simple Soldering 
 and Brazing. China Riveting and Repairing. Chair Caning, Furniture Re- 
 pairing, Glazing Windows, Umbrella Making and Repairing. Index. 
 Tinplate Work. With 280 Illustrations and Diagrams. 
 
 Contents. — Tinmen's Tools, Appliances and Materials. Elementary Ex- 
 amples in Tinplate. Hollowing Tinplate. Simple Round Articles in/Tinplate. 
 Saucepan Making. Square and Oval Kettle Making. Oil Cooking Stove. 
 Set of Workshop Oil Cans. Fancy Paste Cutters. Lamps and Lanterns. 
 Index. 
 
 Other Volumes in Preparation. 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher. 610 South Washingtoa Square, Philadelphia. 
 
" N. HASLUCK. With numerous Illustrations in the Text. 
 Each book contains about 1 60 pages, crown 8vo. Cloth, 
 jjji.oo each, postpaid. 
 
 Practical Draughtsmen's Work. With 226 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Drawing Boards. Paper and Mounting. Draughtsmen's Instru- 
 ments. Drawing Straight Lines. Drawing Circular Lines. Elliptical Curves. 
 Projection. Back Lining Drawings. Scale Drawings and Maps. Colouring 
 Drawings. Making a Drawing. Index. 
 
 Practical Gasfitting. With 120 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — How Coal Gas is Made. Coal Gas from the Retort to the Gas 
 Holder. Gas Supply from Gas Holder to Meter. Laying the Gas Pipe in the 
 House. Gas Meters. Gas Burners. Incandescent Lights. Gas Fittings in 
 Workshops and Theatres. Gas Fittings for Festival Illuminations. Gas Fires 
 and Cooking Stoves. Index. 
 
 Practical Staircase Joinery. With 215 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Introduction : Explanation of Terms. Simple Form of Staircase 
 — Housed String Stair : Measuring, Planning, and Setting Out. Two-flight 
 Staircase. Staircase with Winders at Bottom. Staircase with Winders at Top 
 and Bottom. Staircase with Half-space of Winders. Staircase over an Oblique 
 Plan. Staircase with Open or Cut Strings. Cut String Staircase with Brackets. 
 Open String Staircase with Bull nose Step. Geometrical Staircases. Winding 
 Staircases. Ships' Staircases. Index. 
 
 Practical Metal Plate Work. With 247 Illustrations 
 
 Contents. — Materials used in Metal Plate Work. Geometrical Construction 
 of Plane Figures. Geometrical Construction and Development of Solid 
 Figures. Tools and Appliances used in Metal Plate Work. Soldering and 
 Brazing. Tinning. Re-tinning and Galvanising. Examples of Practical 
 Metal Plate Work. Examples of Practical Pattern Drawing. Index. 
 
 Practical Grainina and Marbling, with 79 illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Graining: Introduction, Tools, and Mechanical Aids. Graining 
 Grounds and Graining Colors, Oak Graining in Oil. Oak Graining in Spirit 
 and Water Colours. Pollard Oak and Knotted Oak Graining. Maple Graining 
 Mahogany and Pitch-pine Graining. Walnut Graining, i'ancy Wood Grain- 
 ing. Furniture Graining Imitating Woods by Staining. Imitating Inlaid 
 Woods. Marbling : Introduction, Tools, and Materials. Imitating Varieties 
 of Marble. Index. 
 
 Painters' Oils Colors and Varnishes. With Numerous 
 
 Illustrations. 
 Contents. — Painters' Oils. Color and Pigments. White Pigments. Blue 
 Pigments. Chrome Pigments. Lake Pigments. Green Pigments. Red Pig- 
 ments. Brown and Black Pigments. Yellow and Orange Pigments. Bronze 
 Colors. Driers. Paint Grinding and Mixing. Gums, Oils, and Solvents for 
 Varnishes. Varnish Manufacture. Index. 
 
 Practical Plumbers' Work. With 298 illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Materials and Tools Used. Solder and How to Make It. Sheet 
 Lead Working. Pipe Bending. Pipe Jointing. Lead Burning. Lead- Work 
 on Roofs. Index. 
 
 Practical Pattern Making. With 295 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Foundry Patterns and Foundry Practice. Jointing-up Patterns. 
 Finishing Patterns. Circular Patterns. Making Core Boxes. Boring Holes 
 in Castings. Patterns and Moulds for Iron Columns. Steam-Engine Cylinder 
 Patterns and Core Boxes. Worm Wheel Pattern. Lathe Bed Patterns. 
 Head Stock and Poppet Patterns. Slide-rest Patterns. Valve Patterns and 
 Core Boxes. Index. 
 
 Practical Handrailing. With 144 illustrations. 
 
 Contents.— ^iinc\^\&& of Handrailing. Definition of Terms. Geometrical 
 Drawing. Simple Handrails. Wreathed Handrails on the Cylindrical System. 
 The Uses of Models. Obtaining Tangents and Bevels. Face Moulds : their 
 Construction and Use. Twisting the Wreath. Completing the Handrail. 
 Orthogonal or Right-angle System of Setting Wreathed Handrails. Handrails 
 for Stone Stairs. Setting out Scrolls for Handrails. Setting out Moulded 
 Caps. Intcrsectiiig Handrails without Basements. Index. 
 
TnCHNICAh INSTRUCTION {continued). 
 Practical Brickwork. w«th 368 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — English and Flemish Bonds. Garden and Boundary Walls. 
 Bonds for Square Angles. Excavations, Foundations, and Footings. Junctions 
 of Cross Walls. Reveals, Piers. Angles and other Bonds. Jointing and 
 Pointing. .Damp-proof Courses and Construction. Hollow or Cavity Walls. 
 Chimneys and Fireplaces. Gauged Work and Arches. Niches and Domes. 
 Oriel Windows. 
 
 Practical Painters* Work. With Numerous illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Objects, Principles and Processes of Painting. Painters' Tools 
 and Appliances. Materials used by Painters. Preparing Surfaces for Paint- 
 ing, Painting Woodwork, Painting Ironwork, Painting Stucco or Plaster; 
 Distempering and Whitewashing Color Combination. House Painting. Varnish 
 and Varnishing. Stains and Staining. Estimating and Measuring Painters* 
 Work. Index. 
 
 Textile Fabrics and Their Preparation for Dyeing. 
 
 With Numerous Illustrations. 
 Contents. — Cotton. Flax, Jute, and China Grass. Wool. Silk. Cotton 
 Bleaching. Linen Bleaching. Mercerising. Wool Scouring and Bleaching, 
 Scouring and Bleaching Silk. Water. About Dyeing. Index. 
 
 Coloring Matters for Dyeing Textiles. With Numerous 
 
 Illustrations. 
 Contents. — Indigo Coloring Matters. Logwood Coloring Matters. Natural 
 Red and Yellow Coloring Matters. Aniline Coloring Matters. Azo Coloring 
 Matters. Anthracene Coloring Matters. Chrome Yellow, Iron Buff, Man- 
 ganese Brown, Prussian Blue, Method of Devising Experiments in Dyeing. 
 Estimation of the Value of Coloring Matters. Index. 
 
 Sanitary Construction in Building. With 131 Illustrations. 
 
 Contents. — Introductory. Soils, Subsoils, and Sites. Materials of Construc- 
 tion. Footings, Foundations, and Damp-proof Courses. Stability of Walls. 
 Roofs. Floors, Hearths, and Staircases. Air Space and Ventilation. A 
 Typical Dwelling. Index. 
 
 Iron'. Its Sources, Properties, and Manufacture. With 
 
 Numerous Illustrations. 
 Contents. — Introductory; Terms Explained. Refractory Materials, Crucibles, 
 etc. Ores of Iron. Metallurgical Chemistry of Iron. Cast Iron or Pig Iron. 
 Preparation of the Ores. Changes in the Blast Furnace. Blast Furnace. 
 Air Supply. Blowing Engines Working the Blast Furnace. By-products. 
 Malleable or Wrought Iron. Production of Malleable Iron. Preparation of 
 Malleable Iron in Open Hearths. Puddling. Refining Pig Iron and Dry 
 Puddling. Forge Machinery. Iron-rolling Mill. Index. 
 
 Steel : Its Varieties, Properties, and Manufacture. 
 
 With 132 Engravings and Diagrams. By William Henry Greenwood. 
 
 Revised and Rewritten by A. Humboldt Sexton. 
 Contents. — Steel: Its Properties and Manufacture. The Bessemer Process. 
 The Basic Bessemer Process. Modifications of the Bessemer Process. Gas 
 Producers and the Siemens Furnace. The Siemens or Open-hearth Steel 
 Process. The Basic Open-hearth Process. Modifications of the Open-hearth 
 Process. Steel Works Appliances. The Cementation and Monor Steel Pro- 
 cesses. Casting Steel. Forging and Rolling Steel. Microscopic Structure of 
 Steel. Heat Treatment of Steel. Theory of Steel. Testing Steel. Specifica- 
 tions of Steel for Various Purposes. Alloy Steels. Index. 
 
 Other New Volatnes in Preparation, 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Publisher. 610 South Washington Square, Philadelphia. 
 
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