44 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 





im^wi^pp ^^M' N^ '-v^ -A 



The electric imbedder cements the wire into the foundation so that it is removed with difficulty 



any not expert with this mode of 

 wiring. 



Edward G. Brown, of Iowa, uses 

 vertical wires with diagonal wires 

 in addition, and has no trouble. How- 

 ever, no more than four horizontal 

 wires are needed, if properly placed 

 and properly put in. 



The first wire should be very close 

 to the top-bar, probably half an inch 

 from it, the second probably one inch 

 below this, the third an inch or so 

 farther down, with the fourth wire 

 wherever the beekeeper desires, so 

 that it may prevent side shake of the 

 sheet and otherwise do the most 

 good. 



In times past, slack or loose wires 

 have been advocated by some. They 

 are, at the best, bad practice. Have 

 your wires taut, and imbed your 

 foundation soon after wiring. Other- 

 wise they may cut into the side bars 

 and loosen, necessitating re-tighten- 

 ing before using. 



Wiring devices on the market to- 

 day make for ease in such wiring. 

 There is no excuse for the many 

 slipshod manners of introducing 

 foundation without wires or with one 

 or two wires improperly fastened, 

 run in loose or so fastened as to 

 make the foundation buckle. 



Doctor Miller, many years ago, be- 

 came dissatisfied with ordinary frame 

 wiring, and has used with success the 

 "foundation splints." They are of 

 sufficient importance to warrant a 

 short description and method of use 

 as given by him in the American Bee 

 Journal. 



"The splints, or little sticks, are 

 one-sixteenth in. square, and one- 

 eighth in. shorter than the depth of 

 the frame, inside measure. The para- 

 phernalia needed to do the work 

 are : A pair of pliers to lift the 

 sticks out of the melted wax, a board 

 to use as a presser, one-(iuarter in. 

 shorter than the inside depth of the 

 frame, or 3 or 4 inches wide and one- 

 quarter or three-eighths inch thick, 

 with one edge kept well soaked in 

 water, so the wax will not stick to 

 it, and a board seven-eighths inch 

 thick, just large enough to slip loose- 

 ly inside the frame, having strips 

 nailed on the sides as stops so that 

 the foundation will rest on the board 

 while the frame rests on the stops. 

 Put a bunch of the sticks in the 

 heated wax. They will froth up at 

 first because of the air and moisture 

 in the wood. In a little while that 

 will be cooked out and the wax will 

 settle down clear. Then, with the 

 pliers lift a stick out of the wax 

 and lay it on the foundation, and 

 with the wet edge of the presser 



press it into the foundation. Being 

 hot it will melt its way into the foun- 

 dation, and if pressed too hard or 

 too long, may cut the foundation in 

 two. A little experience will enable 

 you to do it right. It is perhaps well 

 to heat the wax but little more than 

 enough to keep it melted, for if too 

 hot there will not be so good a coat- 

 ing of wax on it, and if you use a 

 stick not coated with wax at all the 

 bees will dig out the stick. The 

 sticks are put perpendicularly, one 

 about an inch from each end, one in 

 the middle and one on each side of 

 the middle one, half way between it 

 and the end one." 



But the beekeeper is apt to con- 

 sider this method too long, and the 

 added objection has been raised that 

 where not done perfectly such meth- 

 od may produce "wavy" combs. 

 Fastening the Foundation 



Some few urge that foundation 

 should not be fastened to the top- 

 bar. We do not agree. If properly 

 supported by the wires, fastening to 

 the top-bar will be an added support. 



But it is imperative that wires be 

 properly fastened to give best re- 

 sults. The spur wire imbedder is a 

 very poor makeshift. It presses the 

 wires into the foundation but does 

 not perfectly imbed them. The wire 

 cuts through the cell walls of the 

 foundation in one line; the spur 

 points damage the walls in two other 

 lines, making for a greater weaken- 

 ing of the foundation. 



Electrically imbedded wires are 

 best. The wires should be heated 

 just to the point where they will sink 

 in to the midrib of the foundation 

 and not cut through, while the melted 

 wax will congeal over the wires in 

 the cell walls and "cement" them per- 

 fectly. 



For the smaller beekeeper the in- 

 strument brought forward by Burton 

 N. Gates and A. C. Miller is desirable. 

 It is a small too! with a metal point 

 made with a groove to fit over the 

 wire. This tool is heated and melts 

 and presses the wire into the founda- 

 tion. Unfortunately, this tool is not 

 on the general market. 



Drawing Out the Combs 



Granted that we have the proper 

 foundation well fastened in good 

 frames wired in an approved manner, 

 we still have a slight chance for sag- 

 ging if such frames are not intro- 

 duced in a desirable place in the hive. 



Never give full frames of founda- 

 tion to a new swarm. The heat of 

 the mass of the bees, together with 

 their weight is too great a strain to 

 put unnecessarily on the new comb. 



The very best place to have these 



combs drawn out is over the brood 

 chamber, without excluder between. 

 This not only does away with sag- 

 ging but insures comb being built to 

 the bottom-bar perfectly. 



They may be placed- below in the 

 brood chamber if the Demaree plan 

 is used, putting all but one frame of 

 brood in the super above. This re- 

 lieves the foundation of the bulk of 

 the weight of the bees and of much 

 of their heat. 



Such combs are also best built out 

 in a light flow rather than in a heavy 

 one. 



Conclusions 



Get well-made frames, put your 

 wires in tightly with most of them 

 close to the top-bar, use heavy foun- 

 dation, not more than seven sheets 

 to the pound. Imbed the wires by a 

 hot 'tool or by electricity, with the 

 foundation well fastened to the top- 

 bar. Introduce the frames in the 

 super of your colonies, preferably in 

 the center of the super, during a light 

 honey flow, and you will have a 

 maximum of worker comb. 



Producing Perfect Combs From 

 Foundation 



By G. C. Greiner 



DURING the last 12 or 15 years, 

 since beekeepers have found 

 out that the use of foundation 

 is one of the best paying outlays in 

 the production of surplus honey, I 

 have not used a frame in my hives 

 without a full sheet of worker-foun- 

 dation. Consequently I have practi- 

 cally not a comb in use that is not in 

 every way perfect. Of course, it re- 

 quires a little experience to become 

 familiar with the peculiar points of its 

 nature. When I first began to use it 

 I made some blunders, that resulted 

 in more or less undesirable combs but 

 with a little experimenting and ob- 

 servation I soon found ways to avoid 

 them, and today I would have to look 

 some time to find a really bad comb 

 among my outfit. And it is not only 

 in the brood-chamber where perfect 

 worker-combs are desirable, but they 

 are of as much importance in the ex- 

 tracting super as anywhere else. 



The main point in producing perfect 

 combs (stretching next to the top-bar 

 is one of the most annoying faults to 

 be avoided) is the use of the right 

 material and the proper wiring of the 

 frames. At the beginning of my foun- 

 dation experience I used, for econo- 

 my's sake (?) light brood foundation 

 only, which gave me many buckled, 



