46 



THE BOOK OF BEE-KEEPING. 



Appliance for keeping frames In 

 Position for Wiring. 



85. Fixing Foundation. — You will require sheets of founda- 

 tion equal to the number of frames you wish to fit up, some thin 

 wire (No. 30 tinned), a spur embedder, a board e.xactly fitting the 



inside of the frame, and 

 just a shade under half 

 the thickness of the width 

 of the bars of the frame, 

 having two Ied;,ers as in 

 illustration. Now take 

 the frame and drive four 

 three-quarter - inch wire 

 nails at a, i, c, d, and turn 

 up the points inside the 

 frame as hooks ; then measure off two and a half yards of the wire, 

 and make a small loop at one end ; put this loop over hook a, then 

 put the wire over hook b, to c, to d, back to c, under at e to d, to a, 

 over at /, to b, and fasten off. The wire must be pulled tight 

 at each turn during the fixing. Now place upon the board 

 a full sheet of foundation, 

 lay the frame upon this .^^-iiiiiiii^^niiaitiu^iy.^^ 

 with the wires pressing 

 close down upon it, make 

 the embedder hot over a 

 lamp — not red hot — then 

 wheel it along each wire, 

 using a little pressure. This 

 will embed the wires right 

 into the septum, or midnb ^g^/,^^ ^^ ^^.„.„g /:^3^g_ 



of the foundation. On 



lifting the frame from the board, the foundation will be found 

 to be firmly fixed into the frame, and it will be worked out by the 

 bees without sagging or buckling in the least. A sheet of paper 

 should be put between the foundation and the board while doing 

 this ; it will prevent its sticking and so tearing upon removal. 



86. Placing a Swarm in a Bar-frame Hive. — At the 



'time advised, procure a flat board quite as wide as the hive 

 and about the same length ; if the hive is on a stand it will be 

 necessary to have a box, or another stand, the same height as 

 that of the hive. Now put the swarm in the skep on one side 

 for a time, and place the frame hive in the position vacated 

 by the skep. It is of very great importance that the hive should 

 stand perfectly level ; therefore, with a spirit level and a long 

 straight-edge, adjust the hive correctly each way. If it is out 

 of the perpsndicular, all the combs being built by the bees 

 plumb with the earth, they will be irregularly formed, thus, 

 m many cases, entirely nullifying the advantages of the bar- 

 frame system. When the levelling has been completed, raise 



