FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 91 



in the splints, how hot to keep the wax. If too hot there will 

 be too light a coating of wax. 



It must not be understood that the mere use of these splints 

 will under any and all circumstances result in faultless combs 

 built securely down to the bottom-bar. It seems to be the nat- 

 ural thing for bees to leave a free passageway under the comb, 

 no matter whether the thing that comes next below the comb be 

 the floor-board of the hive or the bottom-bar of the frame. So 

 if a frame be given when little storing is going on, the bees will 

 deliberately dig away the foundation at the bottom ; and even 

 if it has been built down but the cells not very fully drawn out, 

 they will do more or less at gnawing a passage. To make a 

 success, the frames should be given at a time when work shall 

 go on uninterruptedly until full-depth cells reach the bottom- 

 bar. 



In Fig. 32 will be seen two such frames of splinted founda- 

 tion that have been built out and filled with honey. The upper 

 one is built out solid to the frame all around, while the lower 

 one has a hole at one of the lower comers, through which a 

 queen can play hide-and-seek. 



In Fig. 33 are two that have been built out and filled with 

 brood. They are built out solid to the wood, excepting one 

 hole in each at one of the lower comers, but these two holes are 

 covered up by the fingers so that you cannot see them. Look 

 carefully at the frame at the left hand, and you will see at least 

 three places where the capping is slightly elevated, because of 

 the splints beneath. 



BROOD TO THE TOP-BAR. 



Incidentally your attention may be called to this comb as a 

 • fine specimen of one well filled with brood. It is literally filed, 

 all the cells, sealed and unsealed, containing brood. It shows 

 that there is no necessity for shallow frames to have brood clear 

 to the top-bar. At the time when it is desired to get bees to 

 start work in sections, the brood will be up so high in the combs 

 that bees will start in the sections just as promptly with stand- 

 ard frames as with those that are. shallower. After the bees 

 have been at work storing for some time, the brood in the stand- 



