80 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



MENDING COMBS. ^ 



In handling the combs, if any are found with drone- 

 comb or with holes in them, and if we are not too 

 crowded for time, the defects are remedied. \'ery Hkely 

 I may turn over these combs to my assistant, who mends 

 them before they are returned to the hive. The usual 

 plan is to mend them in this way : 



She takes a common tea-knife with a thin, narrow, 

 sharp blade, cuts out the piece of drone-comb if the hole 

 is not already made, lays the frame over a piece of 

 worker-comb, (this piece of worker-comb may be the part 

 or whole of some old or objectionable comb), wnth the 

 point of the knife marks out the exact size and shape of 

 the hole, removes the frame, cuts out the piece and crowds 

 it into the hole. 



Or, the following plan may be used, especially if 

 the frame is wired: After the hole is made, (the mice 

 have probably made the holes in the wired frames), the 

 cells on one side are cut away to the base for a distance 

 of ^ to ^ inch from the hole, and a piece of foundation 

 cut to the right size is placed over the hole and the edge 

 pressed down upon the base that surrounds the hole. The 

 foundation must not be too cold. Before fall these 

 patches cannot be detected, unless by the lighter color 

 where the foundation has been used. 



HIVES AND FRAMES. 



Xow that the apiary is all in running order, you may 

 want to take a look at it. You "don't think it looks re- 

 markably neat?" Neither do I. If I had only a dozen 

 colonies and were keeping them for the pleasure of it, I 

 should have their hives painted, perhaps ornamented with 

 scroll work, but please remember that I am keeping them 

 for profit, and I cannot afford anything for looks. I sup- 

 pose they would last longer if painted, but hardly enough 

 longer to pay for the paint. Besides, in the many changes 

 constantly taking place, how do I know that I may not 

 want to throw these aside and adopt a new hive ? 



