1920 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



45 



undesirable combs. The next season 

 I tried the heavier kind, the medium, 

 and to compare the results under like 

 conditions, I used both kinds side by 

 side. The advantages of the heavier 

 grade were so strikingly plain that 

 I have used no other since. 



At about the same time, when my 

 experience with foundation was still 

 in its infancy, I committed another 

 great blunder. Trying to do some- 

 thing extra nice, to have combs sol- 

 idly attached to sides and bottom- 

 bars, I fitted the sheets into the 

 frames without allowing sufficient 

 space for stretching. I hardly need 

 to tell that I practically spoiled a 

 season's supply of foundation ; almost 

 every comb was a disgrace to any 

 well-kept apiary. T allow for 

 stretching, the inserted sheet of foun- 

 dation should have one-quarter inch 

 space at the sides and from one-half 

 to three-quarters at the bottom. 



Another mistake I made in wiring 

 the frames. Years ago, when I was 

 looking for instructions along this 

 line, I found among our bee literature 

 the advice to string the wires quite 

 loosely; if strung too tightly it would 

 cause buckling. Although I could 

 see no reason why this should be so, 

 I tried to reap some benefit from the 

 e.xperience of others and wired my 

 frames accordinglj', including the 

 fourth wire near the top-bar. 



For a number of years I was an- 

 noyed, the same as we hear others 

 complain, with one or two inches of 

 stretched, oblong cells, unsuitable for 

 brood, next to the top-bar. To over- 

 come this trouble I changed my meth- 

 od of wiring; instead of using No. 30 

 wire, I used No. 28, and then gave 

 them all the tension the wire would 

 bear, even at the risk of breaking one 

 now and then. This settled the wire 

 into the end-bars all it ever would or 

 could, and sprung them perceptibly 

 towards the inside of the frame. The 

 reaction of their spring; acted as an 

 automatic wire-stretcher, keeping 

 them tight under common climatic 

 changes and supporting the founda- 

 tion while being drawn out. I am not 

 positively sure that tightening the 

 wires was the only means of prevent- 

 ing the stretching of the cells next to 

 the top-bars, but as I have very little 

 trouble with oblong cells of late 

 years it may have something to do 

 with it. 



Another change I made in wiring 

 was leaving ofT the top wire. Outside 

 of being less work to string three in- 

 stead of four wires, I could see no ne- 

 cessity for having a wire so near to 

 the top-bar. What makes foundation 

 stretch above is the weight below. 

 I do not remember ever having seen 

 oblong cells when using narrow start- 

 ers. If that top wire was added at 

 proper distances to the lower ones, 

 to help support the weight of founda- 

 tion with its adhering bees I believe 

 it would do more good towards pre- 

 venting oblong cells than when placed 

 near the top-bar. The main object of 

 the wires is to keep the foundation in 

 the center of the frames; being se- 

 curely attached to the top-bar in that 



position, a wire so near to it seems to 

 be of little consequence. 



The time of filling the frames with 

 foundation may also have some bear- 

 ing on keeping the foundation from 

 excessive stretching. I always defer 

 this part of my bee work as long as I 

 can, or until warm weather sets in; 

 it is then in better condition to be 

 handled than during the winter. On 

 really hot days, which are my advice 

 for this job, in a sweltering honey- 

 house with the thermometer at 90 or 

 100 degrees F., foundation will stretch 

 as much as it ever will by the heat of 

 the hive (unless it is an overpopulous 

 colony, and to such foundation should 

 not be given), and if fastened into the 

 frame in that condition it may have a 

 tendency to retain the normal shape 

 of the cells with little or no stretch- 

 ing. Incidentally imbedding the wires 

 is greatly facilitated under these con- 

 ditions, especially if the spur-imbed- 

 der has to be used. Although I now 

 use electricity for this purpose the 

 spur-imbedder, when properly used, 

 will give good satisfaction. I had no 

 other for many years. 



It is not a bad idea to always keep 

 a few drawn combs as a reserve; they 

 come very handy when needed. I 

 have them drawn out whenever a 

 good opportunity ofifers itself, either 

 between evenly drawn and capped 

 combs of honey in the supers, or in 

 colonies that refuse to do their share 

 in super work; it compels them to do 

 a little something for their owner. 



In summing up the foregoing I 

 would caution every reader not to 

 take too much stock in any of my 

 assertions. I merely give my experi- 

 ence of past years with its results ob- 

 tained. Conditions vary so much with 

 different individuals that I cannot 

 guarantee success to others; each one 

 must work out his or her own salva- 

 tion. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



Another Short Course 



Doctor Phillips and his staff will 

 conduct a short course in beekeep- 

 ing at the University Farm, St. 

 Paul, Minn., during the week of 

 February 16 to 21. 



Combs Spoiled by Streching— How 

 to Avoid It 



By Morley Pettit. 



A CORRESPONDENT writes : 

 "As you know, frames wired 

 horizontally have one to two 

 inches of comb at the top unsuitable 

 for brood, and a remedy for this 

 serious defect is one of the crying 

 needs at present." 



There is no doubt that this is a 

 common fault of combs built on full 

 sheets of foundation, and it is a seri- 

 ous one. It reduces by that much a 

 breeding space which many consider 

 already too small in the 10-frame 

 Langstroth hive. It also makes a 

 constant barrier of honey between 

 the brood and supers, forming one 

 of the chief talking points of the ad- 

 vocates of divisible brood-chambers. 

 Furthermore, it is a needless handi- 

 cap on the business, for by a better 

 understanding and a closer applica- 

 tion of the principles of comb-build- 

 ing the condition may be entirely 

 avoided. It all depends on the sup- 

 port given to the foundation both 

 during and after building. This, in 

 common practice, may be wires in 

 the foundation, and the shells left 

 by a few generations of brood in the 

 comb. Once the latter stage is 

 safely reached there is not much dan- 

 ger of further stretching. 



To begin with, the stock Lang- 

 stroth frame is without wire where 

 wire is most needed — near the top. 

 Then, if a sufficient number of wires 

 in the right place and well stretched 

 are properly embedded, the founda- 

 tion is better not to be fastened to 

 the top-bar at all. A few years ago 

 the most authoritative teaching in 

 America was that wires should be 

 slack to allow for the stretching of 

 the foundation. This at one stroke 

 did away with any benefit the wires 

 might be. The poor foundation was 

 like the elephant's nose in one of 

 Rudyard Kipling's animal stories. He 

 ■was relating how the elephant orig- 

 inally got its trunk. Some other ani- 

 mal grabbed it by the nose and pulled 

 it until it stretched out long. It 

 finally exclaimed, "That's too buch 

 for be." 



It has been generally taught that 



The best wiring is to have the two top wires close to the tDp of the frame 



