The first person to adjust frames in a case appears to have been Mr. W.
Augustus Munn, of England. I have in my possession a letter from Mr.
Munn, dated November 9th, 1863, in which he states that the hive "had
been in use since 1834." The first printed description of any of his
hives appeared in the "Gardener's Chronicle" for 1843. This article
was written by a lady, and signed "E. M. W." Its premature publication
made it impossible for Mr. Munn to secure a patent in Great Britain.
In 1843 he secured a patent in France. The hive patented is fully
described in his "Description of the Bar and Frame Hive," published in
London, in 1844. There is also a figure (Fig. 111). I copy from the
work which is before me, pp. 7 and 8: "An oblong box is formed, about
thirty inches long, sixteen inches high, and twelve inches broad. One
of the long sides is constructed to open with hinges, and to hang on
a level with the bottom. As many grooves half an inch broad, half an
inch deep, and about 9½ inches long, are formed 1⅛ inches apart on
the inside of the bottom of the box, as its length will admit. At the
top are corresponding grooves to those made in the bottom of the box.
The bee-frames are made of half inch mahogany, being 12 inches high,
9 inches long, and not more than half an inch broad, sliding into the
fifteen grooves formed on the bottom, and kept securely in their places
by the upper grooves," and by propolis, the author might well have
added. American apiarists need not be told that such a hive would be
wholly impracticable. Without bees in it, the changes of weather would
make the sliding of the frames very difficult; with the bees inside,
the removal of the frames would be practically impossible.
[Illustration: Fig. 112.]
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