AiRii-, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



dation between the diagonal intersections to 

 bulge, making the combs wavy or uneven. 

 Shortly afterward the electrical method of 

 heating wires to embed the foundation came 

 into use. This fact, together with the al- 

 most universal use of light brood foundation, 

 which bulged between the wires, led us to 

 abandon the method. 



While the Keeney plan is slightly different 

 from the one here described, the essential 



THK KEENEY METHOD OP WIRING. 



This method was illustrated in Gleanings for 1890, 

 1891, and 1892. It was abandoned because it 

 caused bulging of the foundation in between the wire 

 intersections. 



points are the same. There have been other 

 plans of intersecting wires, but they have 

 not proved to be very popular with the gen- 

 eral beekeeping public. It is possible that 

 the general scheme was abandoned prema- 

 turely, for, with the present methods of wir- 

 ing, there is a slight stretch or sag, either 

 in the foundation while drawing out or after 

 the completed combs have been filled with 

 honey. The sagging or stretching occurs at 

 the top of the comb, and most generally 

 after combs are filled with honey the first 

 time. 



Tliere is no particular objection to this 

 sagging except that it has a tendency to 

 encourage the raising of useless drones, and 

 in this day and age, when energy must be 

 conserved, it would be important for us to 

 consider any plan carefully and impartially 

 that will eliminate the building of drone 

 conili. 



For discussion of the Keeney plan of wir- 

 ing in the back volumes of Gleanings, see 

 page 371 of 1890; 563 of 1891 and 233 of 1892. 

 The last-mentioned page tells of the failures 

 of the Keeney plan of wiring and refers par- 

 ticularly to the bulging trouble already ex- 

 plained. 



There is another method of preventing 

 foundation from sagging, and less objection 

 able than the diagonal intersecting-wire plan. 

 This is the horizontal plan generally in use, 

 but with one or two more horizontal wires 

 near the top-bar. The first two wires should 

 be about 1 inch apart; the next wire 1% 

 inch further away; the next one, 2 inches; 

 and so on, making the distance increasingly 

 further apart toward the bottom. This will 

 eliminate the sagging but requires more wire 

 and extra work. 



Another plan is to use vertical and diagon- 

 al wiring, as was used by A. I. Eoot in the 

 early 80 's. The attached cut shows a reversi- 

 ble frame that he used in 1885- '6, but the 

 objections to this plan were the large amount 

 of work involved in stringing the wires, and 

 the difficulty of stringing wires thru thick 

 top-bars so generally in use. 



There is another cause for the building of 

 drone comb and that is the position of the 

 en trance. — Editor. ] 



The Elimination of Drone Comb by the Lo- 

 cation of the Entrance. 



In our March issue we mentioned having 

 visited Allen Latham at Norwichtown, Conn. 



l''RA\).E OF FKOOD SHOWING DRONE BROOD AT THE CORXKRS. 

 Arthur 0. Miller says that the drone brood found so often in the corners of Langstroth frames is caused 

 by the position of the entrance in the end of the Langstroth hive. 



