36 



MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTBALASIA 



gather no honey, but are heavy feeders on the stores of 

 the hive, and it is waste of food and bee energy 1o rear 

 a horde of lazy consumers. One or two selected colonies 

 will produce all the drones needed in a yard of one 

 hundred hives. A number of beginners prefer to use a 

 narrow strip (about 1 inch wide) of foundation as a 

 guide, but this is false economy, since it allows the insects 

 to build too many drone cells. When this takes place, 

 the object in supplying foundation is defeated. 



HOW TO FASTEN FOUNDATION IN FRAMES. 

 To obtain the full benefit of this material whole sheets 

 must be used. First it is necessary to have an inch thick 



board cut to fit easily 

 the inside of the frames. 

 It should also have two 

 cleats nailed under- 

 neath to raise it an 

 inch or so from the 

 bench. This will per- 

 mit frames to lie on the 

 Pig. 22. Grooved Frames. board supportsd by the 



wires. It will be noticed from the illustrations of the 

 frames that the top-bar has a groove — in some frames 

 two — on the underside. 



We are now ready to fasten the foundation. See that 

 all wires are just right, not too tight, turn the frame 

 upside down, and fit edge of foundation into the groove. 

 A vessel of hot wax is required close at hand, also a spoon. 

 Still holding the frame upside down, and tilted at a low 

 grade, a little hot wax is poured along the angle formed 

 by the top-bar and foundation. The wax when set 

 will firmly cement the sheet to the top-bar. Special 

 implements have been devised for this purpose but a 

 tea-spoon is always at hand, and is convenient to use. 



Frames that have two grooves (Fig. 22) do not require 

 hot wax to fasten the foundation. A small wedge-shaped 

 stick is supplied, the wax sheet is placed in the centre 



