Kathy, An Observation hive is not only a fantastic sales help, but it TEACHES, not only the observers, but more particularly YOU. The more YOU watch carefully what going on, the more you LEARN, and the better you can ANSWER the question of the buying public. Trying to sell honey without an observation hive is SILLY - you might as well direct them to the nearest grocery store and tell them to buy the cheapest With an observation hive and INTELLIGENT answers from YOU regarding customers questions, your honey can COMMAND a price near double that of the grocery store; and you MAKE FRIENDS who appreciate your knowledge and with send new customers to get some of your LOCALLY PRODUCED SPECIAL HONEY An Observation Hive is a "pain in the fanny" to manage and look nice. It is so small, that a new young queen will lay so much that the bees are always swarming. I always insert some old queen in my observation hives rather than kill them, so that brood production is minimal. The queen MUST BE MARKED, so visitors can find her. The BIGGER the Observation Hive, the better it is, but NEVER, NEVER wider than one frame, because then the queen can get in between two frames and the visitors can't find her. My particular preference is an observation hive using 4 medium, 6 5/8", frames, since all my colonies are ALL medium frames for both brood and super frames. If you are using Deep frames, I suggest 2 deep frames and one medium frame in your Observation hive. All the supply companies sell Observation hives. Since it is a lifetime investment, look at all and chose wisely. Telephone Brushy Mountain Farm at 1-800-BEESWAX for their free catalog and look at page 83 for 2 nice examples. Hope I have helped. George Imirie Certified EAS Master Beekeeper :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::