CHAPTER XV. 

 Comb Foundation. 



674. The invention and introduction of comb foundation, 

 wn.li the use of movable frames, marked an important step 

 in the progress of practical bee-culture. The main drawback 

 to the perfect success of movable-frame hives was the difficulty 

 of always obtaining straight combs in the frames (31^). 

 Although the bevelled top bar (319) often secured this ob- 

 ject, yet, in many instances, the bees deviated from this guide 

 and fastened their combs from one frame to another; and if 

 the matter was not promptly attended to, the combs of the 

 hive became as immovable as those of box hives. One frame 

 slightly out of place was a sufficient incentive for the bees 

 to fasten two frames together. In the management of four 

 large apiaries, previous to the introduction of comb founda- 

 tion, we found that, in spite of our efforts, a certain number 

 of colonies would so build their combs, that only a part of the 

 frames were movable without the use of a knife. Even the 

 combs that were built in the right place were made somewhat 

 waving, or bulged in spots, and were thus rendered unfit for 

 such interchanges as are daily required in ordinary manipula- 

 tions. 



675. Another drawback to success was the building of 

 drone-comb (225). We have had colonies in which nearly 

 one-fourth of the combs were drone-comb. In such hives the 

 number of drones that might be raised would be sufficient to 

 consume the surplus honey. To be sure, with movable-frame 

 hives, such combs can be removed, but the difficulty consists 

 in procuring straight and neat worker-combs to replace them; 

 for if we simply remove the drone-combs, the bees often re- 

 place them with the same kind (233). 



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