396 COMB FOUNDATION. 



advanced by W. Z. Hutchinson, in his book "Advanced Bee- 

 Culture'' and which has been mentioned in "Natural Swarm- 

 ing" (425). The other is t'hat when a heavy swarm is hived 

 on full sheets of comb foundation, the great weight of the 

 bees, connected with the unusual heat of the temperature at 

 that time, sometimes causes the sheets to sag, and drone 

 combs may be the result, wherever the sheets are slightly 

 stretched. If the foundation is given to artificial divisions or 

 to weak colonies to be drawn, such results are not to be feared. 

 If a natural swarm for some reason is likely to be unable 

 to promptly fill its hive with combs, the apiarist will be 

 astonished to see how much of a help full sheets of comb 

 foundation will be. Secondary swarms will always profit by 

 its use, as they are not powerful enough to cause either of 

 the inconveniences above mentioned. 



It is well, however, to place foundation in the correct posi- 

 tion, whenever practicable, especially with the light grades for 

 sections, which are more in danger of stretching under 

 ordinary circumstances. 



697. It is astonishing, as well as pleasing, to see how 

 quickly a swarm will build its combSj when foundation is 

 used. The enthusiasm, with which it is used by bee-keepers, 

 is only exceeded by that of the bees, "in being hived on it." 

 This invention certainly deserves to rank next to those of the 

 movable-frames (383) and of the honey-extractor ('749). 



