HIVE, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT 85 



Before the frame is placed in the brood-chamber 

 it is to be supplied with a sheet of comb-foundation; 

 this insures the building of the comb in the desired 

 position, so the frames can be removed from the hive. 

 Bees do not naturally make their combs straight, 

 but curve them so that they are less likely to be 

 broken. It is necessary, therefore, in order to 

 get straight combs to confine the operations of the 

 bees within set bounds; this is done by putting a 

 sheet of foundation in each frame. 



One of the attractions of bee-keeping is that much 

 of the material we work with is pleasing, and some 

 artistically beautiful. A sheet of foundation-comb 

 made of the most delicate w r ax, frescoed on either 

 side with rhomb insets in hexagonal pattern, is a joy 

 to the artistic eye. It is absolutely necessary that 

 the foundation should be put into the frame in such 

 a manner that it will not sag or bulge when it is built 

 out into the comb and filled with the heavy honey or 

 brood. To keep these large sheets from bulging and 

 breaking they are held in place by fine wire which 

 is strung back and forth across the frame, passing 

 through holes made with a small awl in the end-bars. 

 These holes should be about two inches apart, the 

 upper one one inch from the top bar, and the lower 

 one something less than an inch from the bottom 

 bar, making four wires in the Langstroth frame. 

 After these holes are made, put a small tack at one 

 end near the lower hole, twist the wire around it, then 

 thread the wire back and forth, making four wires 

 parallel with the top and bottom bars, and fasten 



