BEE-KEEPING IN WAR-TIME 15 



The hive should be obtained in January, the roof covered 

 with caUco, and the whole exterior painted with three coats 

 of good white paint. If this is done early it will give the 

 paint ample time to harden before the hive is required for 

 use, thus avoiding the inconvenience caused by the various 

 parts sticking together, which is bound to happen if they are 

 put in position before the paint is quite hard. 



The brood frames are fitted with full sheets of worker base 

 comb foundation. Foundation is pure beeswax sheeted and 

 impressed with the base of cells, either worker or drone as 

 required ; by its use perfectly straight combs, of either kind 

 of cells, are obtained in any desired position. It also saves 

 the bees a good deal of labour by providing them with a certain 

 amount of wax, the secretion of which entails a great deal of 

 labour and the consumption of much food. The foundation 

 should be wired into the frame; this is accomplished by 

 stretching very thin tinned wire across the frame, attaching 

 it to the middle of either end bar either by hooks or threading 

 it through holes made with a bradawl. The sheet of foun- 

 dation is then inserted into a saw-cut which runs right 

 along, and in the centre of, the top bar. The frame is now 

 laid on a board, which fits loosely inside to hold the foundation 

 up to the wire, when a smaU serrated wheel, which has been 

 previously heated, is run along the wire, forcing it into the 

 foundation. It is thus held quite rigid in the frame, and when 

 the combs are built makes them very strong, in the same way 

 that steel bars placed in cement castings give us reinforced 

 concrete. 



Our next care is to choose a suitable position for the hive. 

 It is a mistake to imagine that because bees are creatures 

 which love sunshine, they should be placed in the warmest 

 position available. Too much sun on their home is bad for . 

 them, and will cause much distress. Extreme shade is equally ' 

 unsatisfactory. A walled-in garden where there is very little 

 circulation of air, or close up to the south side of a wall, is 

 not a good position. Choose a place which is shaded during 

 part of the day and where air can play freely round the 

 hive at all times, for instance at the side of a standard fruit 

 tree or a pergola. The entrance should face south-east; the 

 back of the hive should come close up to a path, to avoid 

 treading on cultivated ground when manipulating the bees. 

 Bees object to be hindered in their work by people passing 

 in front of their home ; if this occurs, they at once attack the 



