A is the stock hive, into which the swarm is introduced and the queen resides; the glass window is open. B B are the side boxes, right and left, having, either in the sides nearest the central box or in the floor, extending right and left, a subterranean communication. C is the cover of a bell-glass: so far in deference to the storifying system. D D D D D are means of ventilation,—above by perforated zinc cupolas, and beneath by drawers, which may be opened or shut as required.
But for every excellence and capability of which the collateral hive is susceptible, Pettitt's is undeniably the happiest and best. I give his own description and woodcut:—
"A is a block front to open for ventilation, also for the egress of the bees from the box F when filled. B Feeding apartment. C C Ventilating slides. D D D Dividers. E 'Pavilion of Nature.' F Surplus box. G G G Ventilators. H H H H Glass surplus hives. The finest specimen of glass honey in the Great Exhibition was taken from one of these hives. They are of such easy and safe access, that they can be approached at the back at mid-day, when the bees are in full work, without giving them any disturbance whatever. The parent hive is provided with apertures for four glasses upon the top, through which the drones cannot pass. These hives are intended for the inside of the apiary, gentleman's library, or attic."
The apertures on the top, which is the retention of the storifying system grafted on the collateral, are all he describes, and a real and valuable device. The price, two guineas, is, for so excellent a bee-box, most reasonable. I can testify from experience that the material is thoroughly seasoned, and the workmanship perfect.
But I still retain my conviction that the collateral system is not productive. The objection to the storifying system, that the bees have more fatigue in climbing than in travelling on the same level, is not tenable. The bee prefers to ascend; it traverses the roof as easily as the floor; it begins its work on the roof, and evidently ignores the difficulty which Nutt and others have invented. The side boxes, also, are too cold; the heat of the pavilion, or stock hive, ascending more easily than radiating sideways. Comb-building requires a certain temperature, without which it is impracticable. Hence, in storifying and collateral hives both, when the weather is cold and ungenial, I cover up as much as possible with brown paper, in order to keep in all the heat generated by the bees. Taylor, the most sensible and practical of apiculturists, thus describes his experience of collateral hives:—
"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."
I do not wish to take up space by explaining the nether or nadir system. The simplest description would be:—The common straw hive placed on a square box, six inches in depth and twelve inches square, having a window behind for observation. An aperture is in the floor of the box, having a movable zinc slide, to be withdrawn when the bees are required to descend. This they will do when room is denied above. But the nadir-box is apt to be cold, and the queen is apt to treat it as part of the stock hive when it becomes warm, and to lay her eggs and rear her young in it, and so spoil your harvest.
A is the nadir-box, on which the hive B—the common straw hive—stands; C is a pane of glass, and A is a moveable zinc slide for opening or shutting communication between the nadir and the hive. It is not a wise or useful plan.