82 FIFTY YBAES AMONG THE BEES 



rive splints in a frame works all right for medium brood 

 foundation, but in 1909 I filled a number of frames with light 

 brood foundation, and used seven splints in a frame. 



A little experience will enable one to judge, when putting 

 in the splints, how hot to keep the wax. If too hot there will 

 be too light a coating of wax. 



It must not be understood that the mere use of these splints 

 will under any and all circumstances result in faultless combs 

 built securely down to the bottom-bar. It seems to be the 



Fig. 2S — Co(jgshall Bee-hrush. 



natural thing for bees to leave a free passage under the comb, 

 no matter whether the thing that comes next below the comb be 

 the floor-board of the hive or the bottom-bar of the frame. So 

 if a frame be given when little storing is going on, the bees will 

 deliberately dig away the foundation at the bottom; and even 

 if it has been built down but the cells not very fully drawn out, 

 they will do more or less at gnawing a passage. To make a 

 success, the frames should be given at a time when work shall 

 go on uninterruptedly until full-de])th cells reach the bottom- 

 bar. 



In Fig. '42 will be seen two such frames of splinted founda- 



