ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



167 



the longitudinal wires with a diagonal 

 wire, and still did not reach the re- 

 sults, and I don't know that any wir- 

 ing is absolutely iperfect under all 

 conditions. A little method we have 

 is to put in two longitudinal wires, 

 and then one up and down, and fasten 

 it home, or take a wrap around the 

 second wire. 



This particular frame I have in my 

 hand was one from which the comb 

 had been boiled; I think it was treated 

 for foul brood, and I found the wiresi 

 were in suitable condition to fill again 

 without using new wire. But, I have 

 one here with a longitudinal andi diag- 

 onal wire, and it was treated the same, 

 and it is all loose. This method of 

 wiring is quite quickly put in. We 

 have a frame in which we lay the 

 frames to drive our nails; then bend 

 the wire to a hook with a pair of 

 round nosed pliers, and then the loop 

 in one end of the wire is drawn 

 around, and we prefer using a nail and 

 hook at the other end, ibecause we al- 

 low for the emergency of boiling out, 

 if it is necessary, and re-wiring and 

 putting them in. This method is not 

 altogether original with me; I am in- 

 debted to Mr. Chantry or some of the 

 men in his employ that were handling 

 over a lot of old comb and found the 

 diagonal wiring loose, and they hit on 

 the method of tightening up by put- 

 ting in vertical wire, and found it was 

 a good method, and I have been using 

 it since, and I know -of others that 

 have used it in like manner. In put- 

 ting in the foundation after the frames 

 are wired I prefer good hanging 

 frames to the self-spacing frames. In 

 those common home-made frames we 

 fasten our foundation with hot wax. 

 We hang the wax over a lamp to keep 

 it warm, lay the frame in place on a 

 board, and with a spoon or some other 

 plan run the wax along the edge and 

 fasten it to the frame. We fasten 

 the wire either witlhi a wire imbedder 

 or rocker. In the extracting super, I 

 think it is well to use the foundation 

 all through. It is as profitable there 

 as it is in the other part. In the mat- 

 ter of the section super, yve do not 

 w,ant any defective use of foundation 

 there. I have sold a great many hives 

 to people to catch a stray swarm' with, 

 and they want somethihg cheap. I 

 ■Slave shown them the sections with 

 the starter in, and with nearly full 

 sheets, and they say, "No, I don't want 



to put so much money in it; sell me 

 a set of section without anything 

 in." That man would go out and put 

 them on, and I would hear that it was 

 an entire failure. I am sure, in start- 

 ing bee-keeping, we want to start with 

 right foundation, and put in enougih, 

 sections to guide the bees in line. 



The question of putting in full 

 sheets of foundation and fastening 

 them on all four sides of the section 

 has been brought up. From the stand- 

 point of a honey dealer wanting to 

 ship, probably this is good. The 

 honey well fastened and attached to 

 the sides of the section will, no douM, 

 stand the handling and bumping 

 around of sihipping, but is it the best 

 thing for the table? Can we use little 

 enough wax in fastening that fottnda- 

 tiom so that the consumer is not going 

 to have to eat it? I rathar doubt it. 

 But, I do ibelieve if we will use nearly 

 full sheets of foundation and fasten 

 the top and bottom starter, and then 

 have a good honey-flow, or make the 

 conditions the same as a good honey- 

 flow by feeding our bees wihen they are 

 wiorking in the section supers, and 

 keep the bees working, we will have 

 just as good results as though we fas- 

 tened the foundation on all four sides 

 of the section. 



I want to hear from others in re- 

 gard to it. If there are any points I 

 have missed, I want you to supply 

 the deficiency, and if there are points 

 where I am wrong, I want to hear from 

 you. I aim in the business to get honey 

 from the bees, to gt a good equip- 

 ment for (handling, and I want to help 

 and encourage others w'ho are start- 

 ing in the business by working along 

 the same line. I thank you for your 

 attention. 



The President — The matter of the 

 use of foundation is certainly an im- 

 portant one in our industry, and I 

 trust the matter will be discussed 

 thoroughly and intelligently, and that 

 we may learn something. Is there 

 anyone who has anything to say upon 

 this subject at this time? 



Mr. France — Mr. President, there 

 are one or two points, in briefing this, 

 tihat possibly Mr. Southworth over- 

 looked. After seeing this method 

 demonstrated, towards spring, I wired 

 sufficient for 25 hives on this plan, 

 for the purpose of comparing it with 

 the other. W^here these staples come, 

 if your foundation comes close to it, 



