FEBRfARV, 1921. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



83 



while tlu'se methods in which there is ex- 

 cessive crossing of wires make a firm comb, 

 yet, besides the extra wire required and the 

 extra time and trouble, there are the added 

 objections that the comb is more likely to 

 bulge between the wires, the wire is more 



likely to cut the foundation, and also drone 



comb is often built at the intersection of the 



wires. 



Variations of Ordinary Horizontal Wiring. 



An easy method, but one well worth con- 

 sidering, is given by J. H. Fisbeck of Mis- 

 souri, who says: 



' ' After having read the bee magazines 

 lately, one would think that nothing more 

 could be said concerning wiring frames; but 

 one comes to this conclusion, however, that 

 the effective methods are too complicated, 

 requiring entirely too much time and labor. 

 My plan (Fig. 3) I call the "three-tack 

 method." Just one extra tack turns the 

 trick. All methods prescribed call for a 

 tight wire near the top-bar or some kind 

 of reinforcement. With my method the 

 frames are wired and tacked in the ordin- 

 ary way except that I drive a tack along 

 the side of the top hole in each end-bar. 

 Placing the tacks alongside of the hole pre- 

 vents the wire's sinking into the wood. The 

 upper wire after being drawn taut is fas- 

 tened at each end by these tacks. I prefer 

 the lower wires to sag a little, to prevent 

 the buckling of foundatipn in hot weather 

 and to allow the foundation to come closer 

 to the bottom-bar. It is the top wire which 



needs to be taut, and this extra tack, with 

 the manner in which it is driven, does the 

 work." 



It has been suggested by D. W. Switzer, 

 Saluda, S. C, that the frames be wired in 

 the usual way, and then four other horizon- 

 tal wires be used with the foundation slipped 



in between the two sets of wire (Fig. 4). 

 Altho this takes twice as long, he says: "I 

 get splendid results in getting the queens to 

 lay close up to the top-bars. Also, frames 

 wired this way are fine to use when ship- 

 ping bees and when extracting." 



Wiring in the usual way, except that the 

 two top wires are crossed (Fig. 5), is the 

 method suggested by E. G. McCormick, 

 Prairie Grove, Ark. Altho Mr. McCormick 

 does not consider the extra space above and 

 below tlie crossing of the two wires to be a 

 serious objection, still we should greatly 

 prefer to have the wires closer at that part 

 of the comb. He writes as follows: "The 

 modification, by applying the mechanical 



FIG.S 



principles of the truss and suspension, fur- 

 nishes strengtli in the upper part of the 

 comb where it is most useful. To demonstrate 

 the additional strength over a parallel wire, 

 place the finger on the point marked 9 in 

 the diagram, and press downward or up- 

 ward. To wire a frame in the proposed way, 

 commence at the hole marked 1 in the dia- 

 gram, and continue as in ordinary parallel 

 wiring to 7; from 7 carry the wire in front 

 of, under, then back of the wire running 

 from 5 to 6, to the hole marked 8 and fas- 

 ten it. If it is desired to avoid any inter- 



ference with electric imbedding, thread the 

 wire from 5 to 7 down thru 6 and back to 8, 

 and insert foundation between the crossed 

 wires, depending upon the foundation and 

 comb to bind the wires together at 9. The 

 writer prefers the former method, and re- 

 grets that all his frames are not so wired." 



Chas. S. Kinzie of Kiverside, Calif., uses 

 the same method with the two lower wires 

 as well as the upper. He writes as follows: 



"With my plan of wiring (Fig. 6), I never 

 have any sagging. I do not cross the wire. 

 I wire the first wire straight, then the next 

 over the straight one. A lot of sagging is 

 caused by the way frames are placed when 

 extracting. If the frames are put in the 



