352 



G T. E A N I N G S IN BEE CULTURE 



JVNE. 1920 



HEADS OF GRAIN l ?;7i»ilOOIl FFERENT FIELDS 



A Very Clever 

 Trick of the Trade 



One of our men here 

 has discovered a new 

 trick in wiring frames, 

 that is verj^ clever, to say the, least. It is 

 very simple, too. Absolutely no change is 

 needed in the wiring-board or the regular 

 standard frames with four holes two inches 

 apart in the end-bars. 



The frame is wired in the regular man- 

 ner with four horizontal wires; but, before 

 cutting the wire and twisting the ends over 

 the tack head, the next-to-the-bottom wire 

 is pulled out so as to leave a little slack- It 

 is then drawn up and slipped over a tack 

 head driven into the rabbet on the under 

 side of the top-bar midway between the two 

 end-bars. The wires are then all drawn taut 

 and the ends fastened. 



The next-to-the-bottom wire stretched up to the top 

 bar and slipped over a tack head. 



In order to admit of electric imbedding 

 the foundation should be inserted between 

 the three horizontal wires and the diagonals 

 just before the diagonal is hooked over the 

 tack head. This leaves the three horizontal 

 wires on one side of the sheet and the two 

 diagonals on the other. There will then be 

 no "short circuits" and no burning of the 

 wires when using electricity to imbed, be- 

 cause the sheet of foundation will ''insu- 

 late" the wires at their cross-section. 



The only possible objection will be that 

 the next-to-the-bottom horizontal wire will 

 be missing- But there is not any trouble 

 from sagging at this point with the ordi- 

 nary wiring. Where the foundation needs 

 supporting is at the intersection of the wires 

 near the top and along the lines of the 

 diagonals. 



However, if anj^one prefers extra support 

 along the dotted line, he can easily insert 

 an extra wire and imbed with a hand too! 

 after the other wiring is completed. 



The nice feature of this trick is that it 

 requires no change in supplies, apparatus 

 for wiring, nor for electric imbedding. It 

 takes only about two inches more of wire, 

 and, in our judgment, it is far superior to 

 the old scheme of four horizontal wires. It 

 takes hardly any more time, and we believe 

 it will answer all practical requirements 

 for the non-sagging of a sheet of foundation 

 or comb. E. R. Root. 



Preventing About 35 or 40 years 



After-swarms. ago the plan was given 



out for preventing 

 after-swarms by setting the new swarm be- 

 side the old hive and moving the old hive 

 in seven days to a new stand. [Evidentlj'' 

 Mr. Deneen intended giving the plan of 

 placing the old hive beside the new one, 

 on the old stand, and tearing down all cap- 

 ped queen-cells and seven days later moving 

 the old hive to a new stand. — Editor.] 



I tried the plan as then set forth, but 

 found it entirely unreliable; about one in 

 four or five would send out an after-swarm, 

 doing so with an egg or larva in the queen- 

 cell cup. Because of such delayed hatching 

 of the virgin queen more time was given 

 for the development of field workers, thus 

 causing a favorable condition in the hive 

 for throwing off an after-swarm. The cor- 

 rect method is to look the queen-cells over 

 after the prime swarm has issued, determine 

 the date of the capping-over of the first 

 cell or cells; the seventh day from that date 

 will be the right time to move the old hive 

 to the new stand. 



To illustrate, suppose they have delayed 

 swarming three days after the first cell or 

 cells are capped over; in that case the cor- 

 rect time to move the old hive to the new 

 location will be four days from the time the 

 prime swarm issues. 



On the other hand if there should be, say, 

 one-daA'-old larvae in the cells, the hive 

 should be moved in eleven days after the 

 first swarm has issued. 



The cause for the prevention of the after- 

 swarni has been vaguely and erroneously at- 

 tributed to the loss of a few bees thru 

 their going back to the old stand. The ac- 

 tual scientific reason, however, is due to the 

 fact that the honey flow has stopped in that 

 hive at the time of the emerging of the first 

 queen. With no honey coming in, the in- 

 stinct of self preservation impels the bees 

 •to destrov the remaining queen-cells. 



Imlay City, Mich. C. E. Deneen. 



i^C«= 



Getting Brood in E. R. Root says in his 



Outside Combs. article on wiring, 



page 79, February 

 Gleanings, that the queen "will not lay in 

 the two outside combs. ' ' Why do you say 

 so? and why doesn't she lay there.' Some 

 of my queens have laid in every one of the 

 ten full-depth frames, in both sides of them, 

 and this is away up in Canada. 



When starting with bees, and being told 

 that queens never used the outside combs, 

 the idea of a 20 per cent loss of space in the 

 brood-chamber appealed to me as a tre- 

 mendous one, even tho honey or pollen might 

 be partly stored in the two outer combs. 

 Visions of protecting the sides of the broiKl- 

 cbamber came to me; but, on handling bees 



