748 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15. 



But some of the combs showed more or less bag- 

 ging at about the place where the'strip was cut 

 out. Cutting out a wider strip didn't mend the 

 matter, and I concluded it was the sagging of 

 the foundation below the cut before the bees 

 had built the upper part down to join the low- 

 er. The lower wire, which held up the lower 

 part of the foundation, was not tense enough to 

 hold the foundation rigidly in place. 



This year, as soon as I could get the time for 

 it, I tried various plans to overcome the difficul- 

 ty. I had pretty good success by cutting out 

 the strip only half or three-quarters of an inch 

 above the bottom-bar, and I found it a help to 

 take the strip that was cut out and add it to the 

 foundation next to the bottom-bar, thus mak- 

 ing the foundation double at that part. With 

 a good yield of honey, such frames will be filled 

 out satisfactorily. 



Continuing my efforts to obtain the same end 

 with less time and trouble, I finally struck on 

 the plan of having little sticks cut out of sepa- 

 rators to support the foundation, the sticks run- 

 ning from top to bottom. The foundation was 

 generally fastened promptly to the sticks, and 

 the foundation drawn out nicely on the opposite 

 side, making a beautiful level surface on that 

 side; but the bees were slow about building the 

 foundation over the sticks, and in some cases 

 commenced to gnaw down the sticks, or else to 

 gnaw the foundation away from the sticks. 



I then took thin strips of foundation to cover 

 the sticks. That succeeded ; and although a 

 good deal of trouble, as the trouble would come 

 only once in my lifetime I felt I might afford it 

 for the sake of having combs entirely satisfac- 

 tory. I tried coating the sticks by dipping them 

 into melted beeswax after the old-fashioned 

 way of dipping candles, or using the dipping- 

 board in making foundation. But this did not 

 work so well. 



The sticks had to be pressed into the surface 

 of the foundation, and this could easily be done 

 by having the foundation warm and soft. Try- 

 ing it on a cool day, I thought it would be easi- 

 er to leave the foundation cold and heat the 

 sticks. It was troublesome to make the sticks 

 hotenough without burning them; and I found, 

 when they were a little burned, the bees were 

 more inclined to gnaw them down. It wouldn't 

 do to heat the sticks in boiling water, but it 

 might do to dip them in hot wax. I tried it, 

 and the moisture in the sticks at once made the 

 wax a foamy mass. But very soon the moisture 

 was all boiled out, and then I found the hot 

 waxy sticks were easily bedded into the found- 

 ation. For some reason I tried some of these 

 without covering with the strip of foundation. 

 Eureka! Instead of trying to gnaw out these 

 wax-boiled sticks, the bees commenced at once to 

 build upon their surface, there seeming to be 

 enough wax on them for this purpose. 

 Just now, Sept. 13, little honey is coming in ; 



but by feeding I am getting a number of frames 

 filled like the one I send you. This morning I 

 saw one about as much drawn out upon which 

 the bees had been at work less than 48 hours. 

 So it will take only 48 hours to see whether bees 

 in Medina will work the same way. Take 

 sticks >8 inch shorter than the distance between 

 top and bottom bar— the hot wax will swell 

 them in length — and ^V inch square; let them 

 be in the hot wax till the wax becomes clear; 

 with a pair of nippers drop one on the middle of 

 the foundation, pressing it in, then two on each 

 side about 2}{ inches apart, making .5 sticks in 

 all, leaving a space of more than 3 in. between 

 the outside sticks and the end-bars. With one 

 person to lay the sticks on, and another to press 

 them in, the work will be done in a good deal 

 less lime than the same two persons could wire 

 the frames and imbed the wire, so it's a saving 

 of time. The expense is more, the sticks cost- 

 ing a cent for each frame ; but I suppose they 

 would cost less if a large number were made. 

 The great point about it is that the frame is en- 

 tirely filled with straight comb, with no space 

 between comb and bottom-bar. I suspect the 

 sticks may trouble the queen about laying, al- 

 though all the cells are filled with honey just as 

 though no sticks were present. 

 Marengo, 111. 



[The comb the doctor sent was very nicely 

 built out down to the bottom-bar, and the bees 

 have apparently accepted the sticks. But I 

 note that there has been an effort on their part 

 to make the sticks, as far as they could, come to 

 the sides of the cells rather than directly 

 through the middle, irrespective of the way the 

 sticks lie on the foundation. I am free to con- 

 fess that at first I did not take kindly to this 

 plan of staying up foundation, particularly 

 because I thought the queen would object to 

 the sticks, and. moreover, that, even if the 

 queen did lay along the line of the sticks. I was 

 afraid that the brood would not develop and be 

 capped over normally. In talking with the 

 doctor at the convention in Lincoln I was as- 

 sured that the queen not only laid in those cells, 

 but that brood-rearing went on over those 

 sticks. Said the doctor: 



" I believe this is one of the best ideas I ever 

 hit upon, and I want you to look into it a little 

 more. You see," he continued, "that it saves 

 the time of wiring, and I can put the sticks on 

 the foundation as fast as I can wire the frames." 



" Yes, I know," I replied, "that it saves the 

 time of wiring the frames, and that the sticks 

 will be cheaper than the wires; but while you 

 are about it, why not use broom-splints?" 



" I had not thought of that," said the doctor. 

 " I will try them." 



It is possible that the splints would be strong 

 enough; but at all events the doctor urged me 

 to see if we could not get the Weed machinery 

 to incorporate the sticks or broom-splints in the 

 foundation itself. I have laid the matter be- 

 fore Mr. Weed, the inventor of the new-process 

 foundation, and will see what can be done. 



There is this to be said in favor of the wires, 

 that they hold the comb securely to the frame 

 irrespective of any fastening of the bees; and 

 where frames of foundation have to be shipped 

 or hauled to out-yards this is quite important. 

 As I understand it the splints of the doctor's 

 merely prevent sagging. — Ec] 



