366 THE bee-kbeper's guide; 



on by hand, then No. 30 must be used. Tinned wire should be 

 used. To cut wire the right length for frames and not have it 

 tangle, it may be wound lengthwise about a board of the right 

 length, so that one round of wire will be just enough for a 

 frame. Then tie two or three strings tightly around board, 

 wire and all. The strings extend at right angles to the wire. 

 We now cut across all the wires atone end of the board. Thus, 

 the wires are all the proper length, and are held firmly ready 

 for use. Some, even with the Given press, prefer to put the 

 foundation on the wires by hand. In this case the foundation 

 should be warmed till quite soft, then laid on a board and the 

 frame placed over all so that the wires rest on the foundation. 

 Then by use of a shoe-buttoner, with a longitudinal groove cut 

 into the convex side of the curve, the wires are pressed into the 

 foundation. This work is easily and rapidly performed. A tin 



Fig. 179. 



Wire-Imbedder. — From A. I. Hoot Co. 



wire-imbedder (Fig. 179) works admirably and costs very little. 

 Mr. Cheshire states that the brood dies over the wires. There is 

 no such trouble in my apiary. In Germany it is recommended 

 to press the foundation for extracting-combs on a board, and 

 so have the cells built out only on one side and elongated so 

 as to hold much honey. This gives strong combs and saves 

 turning the frames when extracting. But wired combs are 

 strong, and our improved extractors make turning very easy 

 and rapid. Again, evaporation or ripening in deep cells is 

 very slow. I have also found that bees object to foundation 

 on a board, and often bite it off. 



