FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 79 



brood. If the record is "br in 2," that means that brood 

 is found in two combs, but that at least one of them is 

 less than half full. So you will see that "br in 3" might 

 be a good deal less than "2 br," for "2 br" might mean 

 two very full combs, and at the least will be as much as 

 one very full comb, while "br in 3" may mean that there 

 is only a little spot of brood in each of three combs. 



Any other item that needs especial mention will be 

 recorded, but generally there is no record made beyond 

 those mentioned. 



MENDING COMBS. 



In handling the combs, if any are found with drone? 

 comb or with holes in them, and if we are not too 

 crowded for time, the defects are remedied. Very likely 

 I may turn over these combs to my assistant, who mends 

 them before they are returned to the hive. The usual 

 plan is to mend them in this way: 



She takes a common tea-knife with a thin, narrow, 

 sharp blade, cuts out the piece of drone-comb if the hole 

 is not already made, lays the frame over a piece of 

 worker-comb, (this piece of worker-comb may be the part 

 or whole of some old or objectionable comb), with the 

 point of the knife marks out the exact size and shape of 

 the hole, removes the frame, cuts out the piece and crowds 

 it into the hole. 



Or, the following plan may be used, especially if 

 the frame is wired: After the hole is made, (the mice 

 have probably made the holes in the wired frames), the 

 cells on one side are cut away to the base for a distance 

 oi }i to }i inch from the hole, and a piece of foundation 

 cut to the right size is placed over the hole and the edge 

 pressed down upon the base that surrounds the hole. The 

 foundation must not be too cold. Before fall these 

 patches cannot be detected, unless by the lighter color 

 where the foundation has been used. 



