208 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



April, 1920 



MORE POINTS ON WIRING 



Best of <^any Wiring Suggestions 

 Sent to Gleanings Since our Febru- 

 ary Issue. One by 'Dr. Miller. 



By the Editor 



SINCE the ar- 

 ticle on wir- 

 ing appear- 

 ed in the Febru- 

 ary issue of 

 Gleanings, many- 

 have been writ- 

 ing us on the 

 subject, some 

 commending 



either vertical wiring or else the recent im- 

 provement on Stone's method — that is, four 

 horizontal wires with two diagonals attach- 

 ed to the middle of the top-bar, others giv- 

 ing their own methods of wiring or else 

 making other interesting suggestions. Know- 

 ing that our readers will be interested in 

 the subject, we shall give them a brief 

 glimpse into a few of these letters. 

 Criticises Principles of Wiring. 

 L. L. AVheeler, U. S. Asst. Engineer, Ster- 

 ling, 111., says: "It is a principle in me- 

 chanics that' a load of any size, even a very 

 small one, placed on a straight line, such as 

 a wire supported at two points, produces in- 

 finite stress on the line until it either sags 

 or breaks. It follows, then, that the hori- 

 zontal wires in a frame will sag with the 

 load of honey and brood if means are not 

 taken to prevent this sagging." 



He says the method of using four hori- 

 zontal wires, and drawing the wires down 

 when imbedding them, "is wrong in prin- 

 ciple, as it puts a strain on the wires in 

 the same direction as will the load placed 

 on them later by the bees." This criticism, 

 he says, "also applies to the Stone method 

 of wiring, as the wires from one hole to 

 the next run along the grain of the wood; 

 and, as the wood is softened by the moisture 

 in the hive, the wires will cut into the wood 

 with the increased load. The diagonal wires 

 in the Stone method can have no effect in 

 preventing sagging except as they make the 

 upper wire taut. If the load, added to the 

 strain of the diagonal wires, causes the up- 

 per wire to sag, the diagonal wires are with- 

 out further effect. In the method proposed 

 by Mr. Eoot, the diagonal wires can sag, but 

 will have more useful effect than those in 

 the Stone method." 



The Ventura method, he states, .is correct 

 in principle, supports the two upper wires 

 properly at the center, but would permit 

 those wires to sag between the center and 

 the ends, and also there would be no support 

 for the two lower wires. We think, how- 

 ever, that if the two upper wires are sup- 

 ported properly at the center, that is exact- 

 ly where the support should be, and we do 

 not think the beekeeper need worry much 

 about the rest of the comb. 



Objections to Knotting the Wire. 

 Mr. Wheeler suggests both horizontal and 

 vertical wiring with a "clove-hitch" knot 

 wherever the wires cross. In principle this 

 is doubtless a good method; but in practice 

 we believe it will be found that there will 

 b© a few unused cells at every place 



where the wires 

 are knotted. 

 Moreover, knot- 

 ting the wires in 

 this way would 

 take a prohibi- 

 tive amount of 

 time, and would 

 prevent the 

 foundation from 

 being imbedded by electricity, as the cur- 

 rent would short circuit instead of heating 

 the whole length of the wire. This last ob- 

 jection also applies to several others of the 

 suggested plans. 



Prevention of Wires Imbedding in Wood. 



One valuable suggestion in Mr. Wheeler 's 

 letter is his way of preventing wires from 

 imbedding in the wood and thus causing 

 slackness. He speaks of passing the verti- 

 cal wires out of the holes to tacks, fasten- 

 ing them crosswise to the grain of the 

 wood. To us there seems but little question 

 that much of the slack is caused by wires 

 gradually imbedding in the wood running 

 lengthwise of the grain. Any practical plan 

 that will overcome this difficulty will help 

 wonderfully in eliminating the sagging 

 problem. Eight in this connection, we rather 

 suspect that Mr. Stone's success with his 

 wiring is due not entirely to his style of 

 wiring but also to the fact that he uses a 

 wire much larger than the ordinary wire. 

 Other suggested ways of preventing the 

 wires from imbedding in the wood are simi- 

 lar to the one made by W. D. Jefferson of 

 Mammoth, Arizona. He drives in one % 

 wire nail on the inside of the frame at 

 each point of attachment, and then by 

 means of a little tool made by his black- 

 smith he bends each nail in the form of a 

 hook for attaching the wire. 



Loose Wiring Causes Slack. 

 A few have offered objection to loose wir- 

 ing, saying the wires should be drawn taut. 

 One claims that loose wiring has spoiled 

 more combs for him than any other one 

 thing. 



Adding a Fifth Horizontal Wire. 

 Two have suggested that the ordinary 

 horizontal wiring could be greatly improv- 



A fifth horizDiital wire helps some. 



ed by adding a fifth wire; and one suggests 

 using the ordinary wiring, only placing the 

 top wire % of an inch from the top-bar in- 

 stead of one inch as at present, and then 



