A Description of the Bar-and-Frame-Hive.

by W. Augustus Munn.

PREFACE

Having been frequently requested to explain the use of the _bar-and-frame-hive_, in the management of bees, I have been induced to print the following pamphlet, to point out the advantages this new hive possesses over the common ones.

I have added extracts from various authorities to show the importance of transporting bees for a change of pasturage, and thus prolonging the honey harvest. Regarding the natural history of the bee, I have merely stated a few of the leading facts connected with that interesting subject, drawn from Wildman's Book on Bee-management.

_London, April, 1844._

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE I. _FIG. 1._]

A DESCRIPTION OF THE BAR-AND-FRAME-HIVE.

THE BAR-AND-FRAME-HIVE.

By first giving a general description of the "bar-and-frame-hive,"

the details of its construction can be better explained afterwards.

An oblong box is formed of well seasoned wood of an inch in thickness, about thirty inches long, sixteen inches high, and twelve inches broad; but the size may be varied to suit the convenience or taste of different apiarians. Instead of the lid of the box being flat, it is made in the shape of the roof of a cottage, and with projecting eaves to throw off the wet more effectually. One of the long sides of the box is constructed to open with hinges, and to hang on a level with the _bottom_ of the box, and is held up by means of two quadrants. As many grooves, half of an inch broad, half an inch deep, and about 9-1/2 inches long, are formed, 1-1/8 of an inch apart, in the inside of the bottom of the box as its length will admit.

In the other side, a long half inch slip is cut for the egress and ingress of the bees, having a piece of wood about an inch thick, and four inches wide, fastened on the outside, just under the opening, to form the alighting board for them.

At the top, of the side of the box which is made to let down, a four inch piece of mahogany the length of the inside of the box is secured in, having corresponding grooves formed, half an inch broad, 1-1/8 of an inch deep, and half an inch apart, to those made in the bottom of the box, leaving just _twelve_ inches between the bottom grooves and the upper bar grooves.

When the four legs are screwed into the four corners of the box, the small "bee-house" is ready for the reception of the "bee-frames" and the bees. The "bee-frames" are made of half inch mahogany, being twelve inches high, nine inches long, and not more than half of an inch broad, so that these frames will fit into the box, sliding into fifteen grooves formed on the bottom, and kept securely in their places by the upper grooves in the mahogany bar.

When the fifteen, or whatever number of the bee-frames intended to be used, have been run into the grooves, sheets of perforated zinc are placed on the tops of them; the 1-1/8 of an inch openings at the backs of the frames being closed with slips of tin.

One of the bee-frames is made solid, with sheets of zinc being fixed in it; this frame can then be used as a divider between any number of the bee-frames, and thus form the box into two compartments, either to augment or diminish the s.p.a.ce in the box according to the size of the swarm, or the increasing wants of the bees for more room.

The bees are then introduced into the hive (having first closed the backs of the bee-frames with the slips of tin, and fastened the side lid of the box against them, and also removed one of the sheets of perforated zinc from the tops of the bee-frames) by dislodging the bees from the straw-hive in which they had been previously collected, or shaken from the boughs of the tree, where they may have settled, so as to fall upon the tops of the frames within the box; when the bees have all congregated within the bee-frames by crawling through the open s.p.a.ces at the top, the perforated sheet of zinc is placed over them; the bees can then only escape through the long slip or entrance which was made for them in the front of the box.

The top lid can be closed and locked, when the bees will be secure from the gaze of the inquisitive, or the bad intentions of thieves.

Before I proceed to give any directions for the construction of the "bar-and-frame-hive" I am _anxious_ to _warn_ all amateur carpenters, and those who delight to superintend the labours of a "cheap working country carpenter," against the fatal error of using unseasoned wood; for, unless the "bottom board" and the "bee-frames" are made of mahogany, or some well-seasoned, hard, or close-grained wood, the advantages of the bar and frame-hive will be quite destroyed, as the great object is to have the bee-frames to slide in and out of the grooves with the _greatest facility_. Throughout the whole of the making of the hive or box, no glue should be used, unless further secured with small SCREWS OR NAILS.[1]

[Footnote 1: Mr. John Milton of No. 10, Great Marylebone-street, has some well constructed bar and frame bee-hives of various prices.]

The oblong box, A B C D, E F and E F (Plate I, fig. 1), is to be made of well-seasoned poplar, fir, or deal, of an inch in thickness; the inside dimensions are 28 inches and 5/8 of an inch long from A to C, 10-1/2 inches broad from A to B, and sixteen inches deep from A to E.

The top lid A B C D is formed in the shape of a common roof, and made to project an inch, before, behind, and at the two gable ends, like the eaves of a cottage to throw off the wet.

The half of this roof G H, is made to open and fall back with hinges _h h_.

The two gable ends of the roof have holes cut in them, _i, k_, to admit the circulation of air; and secured with perforated zinc withinside to prevent the intrusion of wasps, or any other enemies to bees; the gable marked _i_, shows the perforated zinc framed into the gable, and _k_ the outside appearance of the ventilator.

The side of the box marked A C E E, is made to let down and form a table I J, hung on hinges P P, and supported by the quadrants Q Q, one inch _below the level of the bottom board_.

Two handles are fixed in the ends of the box, one shown in the sketch at T.

Two blocks of wood are screwed on the bottom of the box (one shown at U) to keep it off the ground, &c., when the four legs, L L L L, at the four corners of the box are unscrewed for the convenience of packing, &c. In the opposite side or front of the box at X X, is fixed a piece of board _e_, four inches broad, and an inch thick, extending the whole length from F F; this is secured at an angle with the bottom of the box, so as to form a slightly inclined plain _e_, for the alighting board, which would be always dry for the bees to land upon. A half inch opening is made from F to F, just above the alighting board, for the ingress and egress of the bees. Slides are made _s s_, to regulate the extent of the openings, or to entirely close the entrance to the box; these slides can be drawn out when it is necessary to clean the bottom board, &c.

Within-side the box, two pieces of red cedar of half an inch in thickness, 12-1/8 inches long, 9-1/2 inches broad, are nailed on to each end at E F, and E F (one of the pieces of red cedar shown at R).

The quadrants, Q Q, being made to work between them and the outer case.

A fillet, _v v_, is fastened on a level with the tops of the two pieces of red cedar, to form a ledge of about a 1/4 of an inch all round, to support the sheets of perforated zinc, as shown at W W.

Sixteen pieces of mahogany, 1-1/8 of an inch broad, and half an inch deep, are to be screwed to the mahogany floor board, commencing against the piece of red cedar, R, and leaving a s.p.a.ce between each piece, half of an inch, and finishing against the other piece of red cedar with the last; there will then be formed fifteen grooves, half of an inch in width, half an inch in depth, and 9-1/2 inches long on the floor-board as shown at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

A bar of mahogany, Y Y, about two inches square, having grooves, X X X X, &c., corresponding to those on the floor-board, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c., is let in, and fastened between A and C, having a clear s.p.a.ce of twelve inches between the floor-board, and this top bar; the object of these grooves being to receive, and keep steadily in their places, the fifteen bee-frames, when introduced into them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. I._]

The "bee-frames" are made of mahogany, nine inches long, twelve inches high, and half an inch broad. Each frame is _dove-tailed_ to make it strong at the angles, and to keep it true; the upper part is formed of one inch mahogany, and _bevelled_ off (as the carpenters call it) to the eighth of an inch, in the centre, as shown at _a_, fig. 1: on the two sides of this triangular bar, _b b_, pieces of gla.s.s, extending the length of the bar, are fixed with red lead. The two sides of the frame, _d, d_, are to increase in size, from half an inch at the top, to 1-1/2 inches at the bottom. The bottom piece, _c_, is half an inch in depth.

The back of each frame has a piece of tin, about the thickness of a card, fixed on it, of the exact size, viz. twelve inches long, and half an inch broad, _e, e_. In the centre of the back of each frame, _f_, a screw-nut is let in, which is made to fit a screw at the end of a long spindle, S, Plate I, fig. 1. This spindle with a handle, Z, will screw equally well into the screw-nuts of the fifteen bee-frames and division-frame. The use of this spindle being, to draw in and out of the grooves the fifteen bee-frames when required. When the bee-frames have been put into the grooves in the box, slips of tin about thirteen inches long, and and a half broad, are slipped into their backs (being run in between the backs of the bee-frames, and the pieces of thin tin fixed upon them), to close the 1-1/8 of an inch openings. And three or four sheets of perforated zinc are laid upon the tops of the bee-frames, resting on the fillets. Thus, then, when a swarm of bees has been introduced into this box, the bees have to build their combs within the fifteen bee-frames, or whatever number may have been run into the grooves for that purpose. The bees cannot escape from above the frames, as the sheets of perforated zinc prevent them, nor from the 1-1/8 of an inch openings at the backs of the frames, as they have been closed with the slips of tin; the only open part being the long narrow slip, just above the alighting board, which was originally left for their ingress and egress.

The division-frame is made of half inch mahogany, twelve inches high, 9-1/2 long, and half of an inch broad. So that it will run into any of the grooves formed for the bee-frames; but made to fit close to the box at the end, by means of a slip of wood, C C, fig. 2, to prevent the bees crawling between the frame and the outer-box, as they can do round the bee-frames.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. II._]

The division-frame itself is closed by having two sheets of zinc run into it as shown in fig. 2, the one marked _b b b b_, and partly drawn out, being of solid sheet zinc; and _a a_, the other in the frame, of perforated zinc; _d_, being the screw-nut (like those in the bee-frames) by means of which it can be drawn out into the observation-frame, &c.

Thus, wherever this division-frame is run into the bee-box, (except of course at No. 1, and No. 15 grooves) it cuts off all communication with the bee-frames on the right or left of it; and two colonies of bees may be kept in the same box, and still have distinct frames to work upon, and separate entrances, &c.

If then bees have been put into one of the bar-and-frame-hives, and sufficient time has been given them to build their combs within "the bee-frames," the frames with their contents can be drawn out into the "observation-frame," (which will be more fully described) whenever it is wished to examine the bees, &c., as the 1-1/8 of an inch s.p.a.ces between the grooves will allow of a sufficient distance to be preserved, between the lateral surfaces of the perpendicular combs formed in the "bee-frames," and thus permit them to slide by each other with facility.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. III._]

The "observation-frame," fig. 3, is a mahogany frame, fourteen inches high, eleven inches long, and about four inches wide, having a single groove half an inch deep, and half an inch broad, running within its whole length of eleven inches. The two largest sides have panes of gla.s.s fixed in them with small brads. The top, bottom, and one end (this end forming the back) of this frame, are made of solid wood; the back having a small hole, _f_, 2/8 of an inch in diameter in the middle, to allow the spindle before mentioned to pa.s.s through it. The end which forms the front of the frame is open, so that any one of the bee-frames can be run into the observation-frame, but may be closed by a piece of tin (_d_) being slipt into the small grooves at _c c_. The observation-frame has two pins, _a, b_, to fit into the 2/8 holes made along the bottom board of the bee-box, shown by the figures, 1, 2, 3, &c., see Plate I, fig. 1, and also two small bolts _r_ and _m_; _r_, the upper one to fix into the holes above X X X, &c., in the mahogany bar; (but this bolt is only used during the operation of drawing out the bee-frames into the observation frame); and the other bolt _m_ at the back of the frame, to fasten into the 2/8 holes, _a, a, a_, &c., made in the lid, I J. When the two pins and the bolts of the observation-frame have been adjusted and fixed, the groove in it will be in a straight line with one of the grooves formed in the bottom board of the box, consequently a bee-frame can be made to slide, by means of the long spindle, in and out of the box, into the observation-frame.

The use of this "observation frame" must now be explained more fully: the top lid of the bee box, Plate I, fig. 1. G. H. being thrown up, will screen the "operator" from the bees, which are flying in and out in the front of the hive or box. The back lid, I. J., is let down, and supported by the quadrants Q. Q., and forms a table, the box having been raised from the ground by the four legs, L L L L. The observation frame is placed opposite to whichever bee-frame is to be examined; the two pins, _a, b_, fig. 3, running into the holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c., made in the bottom board. The small bolts, Plate I, secured at the top, as at _r_, and the back _m_: the long spindle, S, is run through the 2/8 hole in the back of the observation frame, as at Z, and the end of the spindle screwed into the screw socket _t_, at the back of the bee-frame _w_; the two pieces of tin on the right and left of the bee-frame are pulled out (of course the observation frame being empty, and having the piece of tin from its front taken out), the operator holding by the handle, _z_, of the spindle, gradually draws out the bee-frame into the observation frame, and after examining the bees and comb, gently returns the bee-frame into its groove in the floor-board: the two slips of tin are then replaced in the backs of the bee-frames: the spindle is unscrewed and withdrawn, the bolts are unfastened, the observation frame being kept firmly in its place, held by the left hand of the operator, whilst with the right he runs in the long slip of tin, _d_, fig. 3, into the front of the observation frame, to keep the bees (escaped from the returned bee-frame), until the observation frame is again fixed opposite to another bee-frame, when the tin is withdrawn and the bolts fastened as before. It has been shown that by these means, each bee-frame, and the bees and comb contained in it, can be easily drawn out and examined, without interfering with any other part of the hive, or occasioning the loss of a single bee.

The whole of the interior of the hive is thus open to inspection at any moment, and a choice can be made of the combs containing the most honey, or the bee owner enabled to trace the devastation of the honey moth, and ascertain the presence of any other enemy, and this without the a.s.sistance of smoke, which must be injurious both to the bees and their brood.

When the bee-frame is returned and secured, the observation-frame is removed; then the lid, I J, being shut up and bolted, and the upper lid, G H, closed, the box may be locked up. When the bees have been shut in with the slide in the front, the hive or box is ready to be transported anywhere, to procure new pasturage for them, which, as every experienced bee-keeper knows, is of the greatest benefit to prolong their honey-harvest.

Perfect protection from wet and the vicissitudes of temperature, is partly ensured by the external bee-box being made of well-seasoned wood; poplar is recommended as of a looser grain than fir, deal, &c., and consequently, not so great a conductor of heat; but the objection to wooden bee-hives or boxes, for being more easily affected by the variations of the temperature, is removed by the construction of the "bar frame-hive;" for the bee-frames form, as it were, a smaller box within the oblong box, and are not in immediate contact with the external air, but have a half inch s.p.a.ce nearly all round them, which will to a certain extent maintain an equable temperature for the bees, both in summer and winter.

Any moisture condensed from the heated air generated by the bees, is carried off through the perforated sheets of zinc above the frames, and cool store-room for the honey is also thus secured.

A feeding trough is made on the principle of a bird-gla.s.s: with a tin feeder and a small bottle for the liquid food to be put into.