Fig. 49.—Woodbury Straw Bar-Frame Hive.
As originally made, it consisted of a wooden box, 141/2 inches square on the inside, and 9 inches deep. The frames were ten in number, each 13 inches long by 71/4 inches high. The ends projected, and fitted into notches at the back and front; but this arrangement was found to be objectionable, from the secure manner in which the bees were able to glue them down with propolis. As facility of lifting without jarring the frames is of great importance, better means of keeping them in place had to be, and have been, devised.
Subsequently to his first introduction of the above-described hive, Mr. Woodbury suggested that the sides, back, and front should be made of straw, as being a better non-conductor of heat, affording a little ventilation, and absorbing the moisture of respiration more readily than wood. We give a figure on [page 157] of this modification.
Various improvements on the original of Mr. Woodbury's pattern have been made. Of these we will mention first Mr. Cheshire's bar-frame hive, and we had better, perhaps, describe it in his own words:—"It consists of two main portions—the super-cover, the upper half of what may be denominated the body, and the hive proper, in the lower portion of which breeding is carried on, and where the bees pass the winter. In front of the lower part may be seen the porch, with its roof consisting of a stout piece of pine, about three inches wide, and running completely along the hive-face. This is chamfered off towards the end, the more effectually to carry away drip, and has a channel near its front edge, which acts as a gutter, by which the rain is conveyed to its ends. This gutter is shown in the cross-section at E. The bottom board of the hive projects 21/2 inches along the front, so as to form a very convenient alighting board. Ten inches of the central part of this is grooved, so that, should it be reached by driving rain, the convex parts remain free of water, affording the bees a dry passage to the interior. The flight-hole is ten inches in length, and is formed by cutting from the hive-wall a piece a full quarter of an inch deep. There are two sliding shutters (shown in [Fig. 50]), by which the entrance-way may be regulated as occasion may require. The super-cover is hinged, and so contrived by the aid of a chain, that it can only open until its lines, horizontal when in situ, become perpendicular, and vice versâ.
Fig. 50.—Cheshire's Bar-Frame Hive.
"The walls of the hive are double, and have between them a space containing dead air. As heat is conducted by air with extreme slowness, these means prevent the escape of that generated by the bees during rigorous weather, while they also exclude the ardour of the sun's rays during summer. In order to give room for the ears of the frames, the inner skin, front and back, is made an inch shallower than the outer one. Standing three-eighths of an inch above the former are two strips of zinc ([1 and 2 Fig. 51]) each about an inch wide, and which serve to carry the frames so that they cannot be propolised, while they can be slid backwards and forwards with the greatest ease during manipulation. The depth of the hive is 83/4 inches, the width 141/2 inches inside. The length will vary with the number of frames used." Fuller details are to be found in Mr. Cheshire's excellent book called Practical Bee-keeping.
Fig. 51.—Cheshire's Bar-Frame Hive (sectional view).