The Life of the Bee 
spot in this absurd habitation, in pursuance 
of a method whose principles may appear 
inflexible, but whose results are strikingly 
vivid. 
When installed in one of the huge 
factories, bristling with frames, that we 
mentioned just now, these frames will in- 
terest them only to the extent in which 
they provide them with a basis, or point 
of departure, for their combs; and they 
very naturally pay not the slightest heed 
to the desires or intentions of man. But 
if the apiarist have taken the precaution 
of surrounding the upper lath of some of 
these frames with a narrow fillet of wax, 
they will be quick to perceive the advantage 
this tempting offer presents, and will care- 
fully extract the fillet, using their own 
wax as solder, and will prolong the comb 
in accordance with the indicated plan. 
Similarly—and the case is frequent in 
modern apiculture—if all the frames of 
the hive into which the bees have been 
gathered be covered from top to bottom 
with leaves of foundation wax, they will 
not waste time in erecting buildings across 
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