[N] Another point on which Nutt laid much stress may be mentioned, viz., the supposed advantage to the bees in working on one level, without the necessity of climbing, as in storified hives. I long thought this was indisputable. Further consideration led me more minutely to examine the habits of the bee in this respect, and I became convinced that nature had given it equal facilities for moving in every direction. A scientific correspondent thus writes on this subject: “I once propounded the question to a very eminent mathematician, and his reply was, that, if any, the difference was too minute to admit of calculation between the horizontal and the perpendicular movement; it was, in the language of the present day, infinitesimal.” Although few of Nutt’s positions have been found to stand the test of practice, it ought not to be said that his crude speculations and rash assertions have been altogether without useful results, as they undoubtedly led to farther investigation, and several modern improvements had thus their origin.
Although at one time I inclined to the principle propounded by Nutt, yet in the working of his hives, I found several disadvantages in their details. I therefore, for my own convenience, altered in part the form, and mode of communication between the boxes, as shown in White’s hive; in the absence of a bee-house, completing the fabric by the addition of an outer cover and weather-boarded roof. The details of this hive have so frequently been repeated in former editions, that a reference to the preceding engravings will now suffice to give a general idea of the ground and separated plan, and elevation.
The ventilators I constructed for my Nutt’s hive, after trying various forms, consist of double tin or zinc tubes, both resting on a flanch or rim, in the holes prepared for them on the top of the box, usually near the back. The outer tube is of one inch diameter, and six inches long, with six half-inch holes dispersed over it. It is soon fixed down in its place by the bees, and so must remain. The inner tube is of perforated zinc, with a projecting top as a handle, and a cap to put on or off this, as required. The bees will stop up the inner tube where they can get at it, when it may be turned round a little to present a new surface. When wholly stopped, it can be withdrawn from its place, and a clean tube substituted. A small thermometer fits within the inner tube. The scientific apiarian, with experimental objects in view, will often find this kind of apparatus, which is applicable to any plain box-hive, of use.
There is nothing to prevent the adoption, in this hive, of an entrance from beneath the floor-board, in the way described at [page 45]. In this case, the portico and its adjuncts are superseded; as seen below, in an improved elevation.