June, 1921] 



BEEKEEPING FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE 



ing from the top to within an inch of the bottom bar should be used in each frame; this 

 foundation is of pure beeswax, rolled into a thin sheet, on each side of which is impressed 

 the foundations or bases of worker cells. Large sheets of foundation in the frames are 

 economical in several ways : first, the bees are saved the necessary consumption of honey 

 and the time necessary to secrete wax and build this much comb; second, their use also 

 encourages the bees to build straight combs which can be more easily Ufted out and, if 

 desirable, transferred from hive to hive; finally they encourage the bees to build more 

 nearly perfect worker celled comb with less drone brood comb. The raising of drones in 



Fig. 2. — Visiting the home of the bees. 



large nmnbers isjexpensive in honey and tends to cause swarming. Frames and founda- 

 tion should be reinforced with fine wire strung tightly from side to side; this is embedded 

 into the wax foundation, thus serving to strengthen the combs. It isespecially important 

 where combs are extracted, and, since it also tends to prevent sagging and stretching of 

 foundation near the top bar, results in more nearly perfect worker brood comb. 



Another separate part of the modern hive is the "super," which during a honey flow 

 is placed above the brood body, and which serves to hold the extracting frames, or the 

 small square or oblong section boxes for comb honey. Wax foundation starters, or full 

 sheets of thin foundation, are used both in the super frames and in the sections. 



The hive stand and the aUghting board, while detached from the hive, are really im- 

 portant parts of the same. A hive must not rest on the ground, else the bottom will be 

 damp and tend to rot, nor is it best to raise the hive far from the ground, since, besides 

 the inconvenience of working with the colony in such a position, here in the north the 



