COMB FOUXDATIOX, 



101 



COMB FOUXDATIOX. 



bar of the frames. So if a frame be given when lit- 

 tle storingris going- on, the 'bees will deliberately dig 

 away the foundation at the bottom; and even if it 

 has been built down, but the cells not very fully 

 drawn out, they will do more or less at gnawing a 

 l^ass ige. To make a success the frames should be 

 given at a time when work goes on uninterrupttdiy, 

 until full-depth cells reach the bottom-bar. 



Under some conditions the bees will gnaw 

 around the wooden stays, as shown by the 

 illustration, p. 100. This occms more partic- 

 ularly when bees have not much to do: and 

 when they run across any thing which is 

 fibrous they will at such times show a dispo- 

 sitir.n to remove the object. 



The suggestion has been made that in no 

 case should the splints be allowed to project 

 beyond the edge of the foundation: or, bet- 

 ter still, the sheet should reach clear to the 

 bottom-bar. 



Other devices have been used, such as 

 paper imbedded in the center of the foun- 

 dation: but this is very objectionable be- 

 cause the bees soon discover that this is a 

 foreign substance, and proceed to tear out 

 the paper bit by bit, utterly ruining the 

 foundation. They do not altcays do this; 

 but sooner or later they will; when they 

 have nothing else to do tliey will begin to 

 tear out the paper, imagining, peihaps, that 

 the fiber is a part of the silken gallery of the 

 moth- worm. 



FASTENING FOUNDATION TO THE TOP-BARS 

 OF BROOD-FRAMES. 



After the wires have been imbedded in. 

 say, 100 frames, the top edge of the foimda- 

 tion is fastened to the top-bars, either with 

 the Van Deusen wax- tube or double-groove 

 wedge plan shown next. This makes use of 

 a top-bar with two giooves and a wedge. 



top-bar. In this groove is inserted the sheet 

 of foundation, as at D. The wedge-shaped 

 strip of wo( :d B is then driven into the other 

 groove, crowding the central partition firmly 

 against the foundation. The foundation is 

 thus held firmly in place without any special 

 tools or the fussing with melted wax. 



There are many who prefer the melted- 

 wax plan of fastt-ning fouudation. NVTiere 

 the under side of the top-bar is plain with 

 out grooves or molded edge, this is perhaps 

 the best. In the case of sections using full 

 sheets, cut to a neat fit. it is the only 

 niethod.* The best tool for depositing a hot 

 stream of wax along the edge of the founda- 

 tion is undoubtedly the VanDeusen wax- 

 tube fastener. It is simply a brass tube 

 half an inch in diameter, six inches long. 

 tJiperirg. and at the apex a small hole. On 

 one side is bored another s iiall hole which 



VAX DEUSEX WAX-TUBE FASTEXER. 



may be opened or closed with the thumb. 

 When the tube is stood up in a cup of hot 

 wax the air will escape from the upper hole, 

 and the wax flow in at the other small hole 

 at the bottom. The thumb is closed over 

 the upper one: the instrument is drawn out 

 of the wax. and the point is then slowly 

 drawn along the edge of the foundation in 

 contact with the top-bar. leaving a fine 

 stream of hot wax to cement it. 



Thus far we have described methods and 

 devices for fastening sheets of wax in brood- 

 frames. What follows relates to the fasten- 

 ing of foundation in section honey-boxes. 



PAKKER 3IACHIXE FOR FASTEXIXG START- 

 ERS IX SECTIOXS. 



WEDGE TOP-BAR 3IETHOD OF FASTEXIXG 

 FOITXDATIOX. 



Most of the supply-factories furnish these 

 kinds of top-bars now because bee-keepers 

 generally prefer them. There is a double 

 groove, one of which is in the center of the 



The idea is. to rub the edge of the wax 

 into the wood of the section. The motion of 

 the machine spreads the wax down, and 

 mashes it into the wood, as it were. It is 

 a very simple machine, and is used quite 



*See Comb Hosey. under the discussion relating 

 to the use of full sheets of foundation in .sections. 



