40 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



IS IT NECESSARY TO IMBED THE WIRES IN 

 RBOOD FRAMES. 



Mr. Stewart also says that it is un- 

 necessary to imbed the wires; simply 

 weave the foundation in between the 

 wires, on one side of one wire, then on 

 the other side of the next, etc. This is a 

 plan that I once thought seriously of 

 giving a trial. One or two wrote me that 

 they had tried it, and found it all right 

 but a whole lot of them wrote and said 

 don't do it. There would certainly be no 

 support for the foundation when hiving 

 swarms. Another thing, and it may not 

 be of any importance, but I'll mention it : 

 The wires would not be in the septum, 

 but to one side of it. Would brood be 

 reared in a cell having a wire lying 

 across the bottom of the cell ? Perhaps 

 it would. I must confess my ignorance 

 on that point. 



Bro. Stewart says it is not necessary to 

 imbed the wires, and now comes friend 

 Adrian Getaz, of Tennesee, saying that it 

 is not necessary to fasten the foundation 

 to the top bar, simply have the uppermost 

 wire close to the bar and the bees will do 

 their own attaching. This supposes, of 

 course, that the wires are imbedded. 1 

 should fear that the top of the sheet of 

 foundation might sway to one side, in 

 some cases, especially if full swarms 

 were hived on the foundation; but, in 

 other cases, if the >vire is drawn taut, it 

 might be all right. 



Dr. C. C. Miller says that 1 ought to 

 have said that the board upon which the 

 foundation is laid when the wires are im- 

 bedded, is a trifle (perhaps ;s of an inch) 

 smaller than the inside of the brood 

 frame. Correct. 



THE USE OF RESIN. 



He further says that the use of resin 

 for fastening in the foundation has the 

 objection that if some man should, at 

 some future time, melt up the combs into 

 wax, that the resin would go into the 

 wax. It would; but the amount would be 

 so infinitismal that it seems to me it 

 would do no harm. 



I have received several articles, or 

 letters, telling how to hold the spool, and 

 guide the wire, so as to avoid tangles, 

 and allow, the frame to be filled direct 

 from the spool. In all of these plans the 

 whole length of wire has to be drawn 

 through the holes, and, in my experience, 

 it takes much longer than to draw only 

 half of it through, as described in my 

 former article on this subject. Another 

 objection urged against the plan 1 have 

 described is that it requires an inch or 

 two more of wire, in order to hold it and 

 draw it taut. This is true; but when wire 

 costs only about one cent for 100 feet, 

 an inch or two on each frame does not 

 count much against any perceptible saving 

 of time. 



THE CHAFF HIVE IS TOO UNWIELDY. 



The question of frames and their con- 

 struction, the wiring of them, and the 

 filling of them with foundation, has now 

 been fairly well considered, and it is time 

 to take up the kind of hive in which they 

 are to be hung. 1 would not tolerate a 

 chaff hive. It is expensive and cumber- 

 some, and does not always accomplish 

 the purpose for which it was designed. 

 In our northern climate bees certainly 

 need protection in the winter, and chaiT 

 hives furnish it probably as well as it can 

 be furnished in the open air, but they 

 don't always save the bees in a long 

 severe winter, when the cellar brings 

 them through ail right. The cellar is the 

 only method whereby an absolutely uni- 

 form temperature can be maintained 

 regardless of the outside weather. The 

 only advantage of out-door wintering lies 

 in the opportunity of allowing the bees to 

 fly if there comes a warm spell in the 

 winter; but, on the other hand, bees with 

 good stores, and kept in a warm cellar, 

 dont need to fly in the winter. This is 

 not an article on the wintering problem, 

 only as it is touched upon in considering 

 chaff lives, but, if 1 wished to winter bees 

 in the open air, 1 would still use single- 

 wall hives, and pack them up in packing 

 cases with chaff, planer shavings, saw- 

 dust, or the like. 1 would rather go to 



