The Townsend Bee Book 21 
PUTTING FOUNDATION INTO THE FRAMES 
This work should always be done in a warm room or where 
the temperature is high enough so that the foundation will be 
pliable and not easily broken in handling. Our brood-frames are 
all ordered with the double groove and wedge for securing the 
foundation in the top-bar. The full sheet of foundation should 
be laid on the wires, worked into the center groove, and then the 
wedge inserted in the other groove. Right here is where so many 
fail, for they do not crowd this wedge in far enough. This is quite 
important, for a little carelessness in doing this will mean that the 
foundation will fall out of the frames and make a complete failure 
of one of the best means of securing it ever devised. | 
IMBEDDING WIRES INTO FOUNDATION 
We use a smooth planed board, % inch thick, and the size of 
the inside of the brood-frames. We lay this board on the founda- 
tion now in the frame, and turn the frame (board and all) the 
other side up. The wires will then be on top of the foundation, 
and the board on the under side. We have never tried anything 
that equals the Easterday imbedder. It is not quite as rapid as 
the spur-wheel imbedder, but, unlike the latter tool, it leaves the 
foundation smooth instead of creasing it and making a weak 
place. After the wire has been crowded down into the foundation 
a few drops of wax near the ends will help to keep it in place. 
The lower edge of the foundation should be trimmed off in 
order to leave about a half-inch space just above the bottom-bar 
of the frame. We take a narrow board the length of the inside of 
the frame and ¥% inch thick. We use this board as a guide for 
trimming off this lower edge of the foundation. We stand it on 
edge next to the bottom-bar, and with a thin sharp knife cut off 
that portion of the foundation by means of the straight edge thus 
afforded. If the space between the foundation and the bottom-bar 
is much less than half an inch the foundation is likely to sag; and 
when this happens it tips over to one side (buckles), and makes 
one of the most undesirable combs imaginable. 
PAINTING HIVES AND SUPERS 
In the spring, after most of the freezing weather is over, we 
do our painting. We have had a long experience with lead and 
oil, and alsc with prepared paint; but we use only the prepared 
paint now. A new hand can do good work by using prepared 
paint, while the mixing of lead and oil is a trade in itself. Even 
the prepared paint, however, should be thoroughly stirred before 
