364 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Dec. 



economy to fill the frame with foundation, for if only a small strip is 

 used there will be entirely too much drone comb built. 



If a full sheet of foundation is put in a brood-frame, supported 

 only at the top, it will very likely stretch at the upper part so as 

 to make the cells large enough for drone cells. To avoid this stretch- 

 ing, tinned iron wire, No. 30, is fastened in the frames, four hori- 

 zontal strands. The frames that you buy will have the holes pierced 

 through the end bars, and you will string the wire through these 

 holes, fastening the two ends by driving in small nails part way, 

 winding the end of the wire around the nail two or three times, 

 then driving home the nail. The wire should not be drawn very 

 tight. The sheet of foundation should be cut to come within a 

 quarter of an inch of the bottom bar. Make a board just large 

 enough to slip ineide the frame. Keep its surface wet, so the founda- 

 tion will not stick to it. Lay the board flat and lay the foundation 

 on it. Then lay the wired frame over it. Push the foundation into 

 the saw-kerf made for it in the underside of the top bar. To press 

 the wire into the foundation, run over it a tracing-wheel, such as the 

 women-folks use. To make it straddle the wire, every alternate 

 tooth should be set like the teeth of a saw. A few drops of melted 

 beeswax along the top will hold the foundation there, unless there 

 comes with the frame a little strip to crowd in so as to wedge the 

 foundation in tight. 



To fasten foundation in the little surplus boxes, or sections, it 

 will pay you to buy a foundation fastener if you have much of such 

 work to do. If you use only a few sections, you can fasten the 

 foundation by pressing down the edge with a common case-knife. 

 The foundation should come within one-quarter of an inch of the wood 

 at sides and bottom. The foundation must be warm enough to be a 

 little soft, when fastening either in brood-frames or sections, as it 

 will naturally be on a hot summer day. 



Comb foundation is made of different weights. For brood-frames 

 that are not wired, you need "heavy brood" foundation; for wired 

 frames, "light brood." For sections, "thin super" is generally pre- 

 ferred, although some prefer "extra thin." The higher the founda- 

 tion, the more it costs per pound; but you get more surface in a 

 pound, so it is cheaper. 



BUYING READY-MADE HIVES, ETC. 



Time was when each man's clothes were made in his own house. 

 Now-a-days it is usual to go elsewhere to buy them. No farmer 

 would think of making his own reaper or hoe. It is the same way 

 in bee-kcpping. The manufactories that make a business of making 



