THE HIVE 35 



tion" and is simply a sheet of pure bees- 

 wax rolled very thin and stamped or em- 

 bossed with a pattern corresponding to 

 the shape of the finished cells. 



This foundation is supplied either in 

 the form of a narrow strip attached the 

 length of the top bar, or, better still, in 

 the form of a solid sheet covering the 

 whole space of the frame. It is held in 

 place by inserting it in a groove cut for 

 the purpose in the underside of the top 

 bar and is further braced with fine tinned 

 wire extending from end to end of the 

 frame. This wire is slightly embedded 

 in the wax foundation and as the bees 

 build up their comb it becomes a perma- 

 nent brace which does much to secure the 

 combs tightly in place. Frames which 

 are not wired may often be broken in 

 handling — and that is almost always an 

 unpleasant experience, especially if the 

 bees at that particular time happen to be 

 slightly out of humor about something. 



These frames contained in the hive body 



