The Apiary.

Otago Witness, Issue 1343, 25 August 1877, Page 18

The Apiary.

BEE HIVE FOB BEGINNERS., Use boards one inch thick ; ■ soft wood ! is best. Cut the side pieces 15 inches long; the end pieces 17 inchesiong •' joint them 10 3-4 inches wide. Plane one. side smooth enough to take paint. These yill make a bex 15 inches square inside. Now saw four strips, one half-inch square,, two of them 17 inches long, and two 16 inches long, and nail them onthe upper edge of ' the hive, even with- ; the outer surface. They will form a rabbet onehalf inch wide and a half inch deep across the top of both' sides and ends for the frames to rest upon. This will enable, you to place, the frames either endwise or sideways to the entrance,, as, you, may prefer. Now cut out a piece one-half by four inches? on the lower edge of oae side, for an entrance for the bees. . Now make a top and bottom boardj two inches longer and wider than the hive, but do not nail them to the hive.- Paint the outside of the hive with some thick paint. !The hive will hold twelve frames to each.' story, and they can be used' two or three stories high if desired.' Make the frames as follows: — Saw the' bars sev.en-eighths of an inch wide' and three-eighths of an inch thick.- Cut the top bars' ls '3-4. inohes long, the bottom bars 14 inches long and the" end bars 10 inches long, and a strip 14 inches long, one half-inch wide and as thick as will fit into your" saw karf. Now saw a slot in the middle of top end of each end bar,' to hold the ends of the thin strip, and ( be careful not to saw any deeper than the strip is wide. Nail together with one and a quarter inch, finishing brads. Nail through top and bottom bars into the end bars. These projectures will rest in the grooves or rabbets around the top of thehive. The middle of the thin strips may be [ held in place by small tacks or small wire staples, with the ends secured in the top bars, holding the thin strip at right angles with the top bar. This wjjl be a great help in securing straight combs: It will be a great" help handling the bees, to spread a thin." cotton cloth over the tops ! of the frames and hive before laying on .the top or honey boxes. - ", • These hives can be made by anyone who can use a saw, a plane, and a hammer.