86 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



the wire with a tack; care should be taken not to 

 draw the wire too tightly; simply draw up the slack. 



The sheets of foundation as sold by the dealers are 

 a little smaller than the space in the frame, so that 

 when they are fastened to the top bar a bee-space is 

 left between the sheet and the bottom and end bars. 

 See Plate XII. 



The sheet of foundation is fastened to the top bar 

 of an ordinary frame by means of a Van Deusen 

 wax-tube fastener, which is simply a hollow tube that 

 may be dipped in and filled with the hot wax which 

 issues through a small hole at the sharp, bent end of 

 the tube; as the point is drawn along where the 

 foundation and frame meet it leaves a stream of hot 

 wax that seals the two together. However, the most 

 satisfactory way is to get brood-frames, like the 

 Hoffman, which have two grooves in the top bar. 

 Set the foundation in the groove at the centre, and 

 introduce a strip of wood which is wedge-shaped in 

 cross-section, thin edge first, into the adjoining 

 groove, driving it or pressing it in hard so that it 

 pushes the thin partition over, and wedges the 

 foundation firmly in place. These strips for wedging 

 come with the frames. 



After the foundation is fastened to the top bar the 

 frame and foundation are laid, wire side up, on a 

 board just the size of the piece of foundation so that 

 it will slip inside the frame. This board is kept wet 

 to prevent the wax from sticking to it. Then we use 

 the spur wire-embedder, which is like the tracing- 

 wheel used by dressmakers, except that the teeth 



