1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



843 



thing thoroughly and in good faith. But, of 

 course, he must test things just enough to 

 prove the falsity of their claims. But, for all 

 that, I appreciate the many good things that 

 Bro. Doolittle has from time to time told us 

 in his writings, and no doubt there will be ad- 

 vancement when both he and I have finished 

 our work. 



Belmont, Ont., Can. 



rQ^ rl&t i^^k 



ANSWERS TO 



SEASONABLE 



QUESTIONS 



L a@ rti^,(^ ^ ^^j^OL^.^ ^ ^ ^ ^ J 



STRAIGHT WORKER COMBS WITHOUT FOUN- 

 DATION. 



Question. — Will you please tell us in Glean- 

 ings how straight worker combs can be secur- 

 ed without the use of comb foundation ? I 

 wish to make my frames this winter, and put 

 them in shape for next summer's use. and I 

 do not wish to use foundation in doing so. 

 Knowing that you kept bees before the advent 

 of foundation I thought you might give those 

 who do not wish to purchase foundation for 

 their brood-frames some light on this matter. 



Answer. — To have all of our combs built 

 true in the frames, so that each comb is as 

 true as a board, is certainly worth working 

 for, to those who handle their frames. The 

 object of frame hives is to allow of a better 

 control over the inside of the hive than could 

 be done with box hives ; and only as these 

 frames are movable, in the fullest sense of the 

 word, is this object secured. We often see 

 combs so bulged or crooked in the frames 

 that they will not allow of being changed to 

 different parts of the hive, or from one hive to 

 another, in which case the hive containing 

 them can scarcely be called a movable-frame 

 hive. 



As a starting-point toward straight combs I 

 would use a strip of foundation, half an inch 

 wide, as a guide for the bees to follow the 

 center to the top-bar to the frames, even did 

 such foundation cost me two dollars a pound ; 

 for where no siich guide is used it is impossi- 

 ble to secure the combs built true in the 

 frames. If any person is so set against foun- 

 dation that he will not use it any case, a wax 

 guide can be put on the under side of the top- 

 bar to the frame, which is secured by making 

 a straight-edge of hard wood, the thickness of 

 which is equal to half the width of the top-bar 

 to the frame, by one inch wide, and % inch 

 shorter than the inside of the top-bar is long. 

 This straight edge is nailed to a wide board, 

 and the board is so fixed that it inclines 

 enough for the melted wax (which is to be 

 used to make the guide) to run along the top- 

 bar freely. With a wet sponge moisten the 

 straight-edge ; lay the frame on the wide 

 board with the under side of the top-bar 

 pressed against the straight-edge, when a little 

 wax is turned from a spoon into the upper 

 edge of the V-shaped trough (which is made 



by the top-bar of the frame and the straight- 

 edge), and allowed to run down the whole 

 length of it. Now lift the frame and you have 

 a wax -guide for the bees to start their comb 

 on. By keeping the straight-edge wet, the 

 wax will not stick to it; and, by using a lansp 

 under the dish of wax, it can be so regulated 

 that the wax is kept at the right temperature 

 all the while. In this way guides can be put 

 on very rapidly, but they are not nearly as 

 good as the strips of foundation, as the latter 

 has cells started on it, while the other is only 

 a plain strip of wax. While I have found a 

 guide of some kind an actual necessity (the 

 above two being the best), I have also found 

 that no guide can always be depended upon, 

 for the bees are sometimes very obstinate, and 

 will leave any guide, or gnaw the wax off, so 

 as to build crooked combs, if they do not go 

 directly across the frames. (. onsequently it 

 pays the apiarist to look at each colony hived 

 on empty frames, while they are building 

 comb, as often as once in three days. If any 

 combs are going wrong, they can be bent 

 back in line very easily, and after the hive is 

 once filled they are good for many years, as I 

 have never yet seen a comb that I would dis- 

 card on account of age, although I have now 

 kept bees for nearly thirty years. 



To best illustrate how to manage I will give 

 my way of working with a swarm of bees 

 hived in any hive having frames with only 

 starters in them. As all of my queens have 

 their wings clipped the swarm is hived by let- 

 ting them return, previously moving the 

 parent colony to a new location, and setting 

 the hive containing the full number of frames 

 in its place. In two days I open the hive, 

 and usually find that the bees have made a 

 start on five frames. These five frames are 

 placed together at one side of the hive, and a 

 dummy or division-board is placed next to 

 them. This throws the full force of bees on 

 these frames, and they will soon fill them with 

 straight worker-comb, as a rule, especially if 

 sections are placed over them, as they always 

 should be, so that, if much honey is coming 

 in, it may be stored in the sections rather than 

 be an incentive for the bees to build drone 

 comb in which to store it. This also gets the 

 bees to work in the sections quicker than any 

 other way I know of. If we get these five 

 combs built straight there will be no trouble 

 in having the rest so, as thej' can build them 

 no other way if placed between two of those 

 already built. If every comb in a hive is 

 straight and all worker, other conditions being 

 equal, such a colony will be a profitable one; 

 and if each colony is in like condition, all will 

 be profitable. No bee-keeper, even if he has 

 not more than three or four colonies, should 

 consider them in proper working condition 

 until each comb is a straight worker comb. 

 There is no need of having hives half full of 

 drone comb, and so crooked that they can not 

 be handled. If we do things at the right time 

 and in a proper manner, our bees will more 

 than pay us for all of the time spent on them. 

 Suppose that, instead of working as above, 

 we hive our swarms without paying any fur- 

 ther attention to them. Swarms issuing when 



