April, 1920 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



209 



imttiiig a fifth wire lialfway between the 

 two top wires. This would supply some ad- 

 ditional support exactly where needed. 



A Fair Plan. 



Among the different plans handed in, W. 

 II. Keller's is one of the best. It is as fol- 

 lows: 



' ' Among the various methods of wiring 

 fiames suggested in the books and maga- 

 zines I have not found any just like my 

 method. I nail my frames ten at a time 

 in a clamp similar to the one described in 

 Gleanings for April, 1917; and while they 

 are yet in the clamp, with an automatic 

 hand drill I drill two holes thru the top- 

 bar and two thru the bottom-bar. Those 

 in the top-bar are about 7 inches apart, and 

 equally distant from the center; and the 

 ones in the bottom-liar are about 1^2 inches 

 apart, also equally distant from the cen- 

 ter. The drill is held sloping toward the 

 end of the bars so that the holes approxi- 

 mately line up. Tacks are started at the 

 side of the two holes in the top-bar and 

 also beside the top and bottom holes in one 

 end-bar while the frames are still in the 

 clamp. I put in the horizontal wires in the 



Keller's plan of -vririn 



usual way, making them as tight as I can 

 without breaking. Then I put in the diag- 

 onal wire down thru one hole in the top-bar, 

 thru one in the bottom, back thru the other, 

 and out thru the second hole in the top- 

 bar. The end of the wire is given a couple 

 of turns about the tack, and then the slack 

 pulled back and a couple of turns made about 

 the tack at the first hole. The tacks are 

 driven home, and the wire broken off. This 

 diagonal wire is not drawn very tight — just 

 enough to take out all the slack and pull. 

 up the middle of the bottom-bar slightly. 

 Of course, these holes are all drilled so as 

 to have the wire all in the same plane; but 

 in putting in the diagonal wires I do not 

 weave them thru the horizontal wires. It 

 is better not to. I use electricity for im- 

 bedding the horizontal wires first, and then 

 the diagonal. Now, I know you will say 

 that is a lot of fussing and killing time. 

 Well, I am more concerned in getting a 

 frame as nearly perfect as possible than in 

 saving a little time. It takes only a few 

 seconds to put in the diagonal wire, and I 

 believe it is worth while. I got started on 

 this method by having to overhaul a lot 

 of hives in which there were flimsy frames 

 without wires or foundation. After I got 

 them wired up thus and filled with full 

 sheets of foundation, and the bees had done 



their part, thoy made such fine combs that 

 1 have never used any other method since." 

 We suggest that if the sheet of founda- 

 tion is inserted between the two sets of 

 wires, the horizontal and the diagonal, there 

 will be no trouble from short circuiting. 

 The plan looks pretty good; but, tho similar 



:^2^ 



Good method of wiring advocated by E. R. Root. 



to the one which is advocated by E. E. 

 Root, we do not consider it so good, because 

 the diagonal wires can not be drawn taut. 

 A Valuable Kink. 



In connection with the plan last advo- 

 cated by E. R. Root, Geo. Mack of Silver 

 Creek, N. Y., offers a kink well worth try- 

 ing. We give the following extract from 

 his letter: 



"Wiring of frames has never been at all 

 satisfactory with me. I have tried every 

 method in existence (except E. R. Root's 

 trick), and still I have never been satisfied. 

 The nearest I have ever come to being 

 suited was to wire in the regular way and 

 then put in two diagonal wires. This, how- 

 ever, did not quite suit. Friend Root's trick 

 hits the spot with me exactly, for I know 

 he would never have given it to us unless he 

 had known what he was talking about. Now, 

 in trying the trick, the staple in the top- 

 bar struck me as being by far the best. I 

 tried the staple, but it did not work out 

 quite right. If I put the staple close to 

 the saw-kerf, so as to have all wires touch, 

 the wood split and the staple pulled out. 

 After a few minutes of thinking I hit on a 



CROSS- SECTION 



OF TOP- BAR 



Geo. Mack's plan for attaching the ■wire to the 

 top-bar. 



])lan which, being tried, worked perfectly 

 satisfactorily. It was nothing more nor 

 less than the old time-honored tack. The 

 cut, I think, describes it better than words. 

 After a few hours ' practice I could put this 

 extra wire in nearly as fast as I could do 

 it the old way. Another kink I have found 

 out about the wiring game is the use of a 

 pair of pincers or pliers for setting the 



