.
Indeed - if anyone's interested, they can see the complexity of John Weeks' Vermont Hive by downloading his 1841 Patent ( US2151 ). Although complex, it was an ingenious idea to have three honey-boxes attached to the brood chamber instead of just one - which was to play an important role in beekeeping history.
Because - Gilbert Doolittle's father kept 20 of them, and the significant increase in honey harvest when compared with their neighbours was to make an indelible impression upon the young Doolittle - such that he became fascinated with beekeeping, and walked away from the family farm as soon as he was old enough in order to become a full-time beekeeper. He then set about designing a framed beehive to emulate his father's Vermont Hives, that is - to create a hive which would support side-storage as well as top-storage of surplus honey. Which is why - after comparative testing - he chose the Gallup frame rather than the Langstroth-dimensioned frame.
Interestingly, Bastion chose exactly the same sized frame (pages 165-168) - only without a bottom-bar, to create what he called an 'Open-Frame' Hive. Unfortunately he complicated (imo) an otherwise simple and straightforward design by securing the frame side-bar bottoms with metal latches made from panel pins - which are totally unnecessary (again, imo).
LJ
A Heretics Guide to Beekeeping - http://heretics-guide.atwebpages.com