102 BEE CULTURE. 
a great deal, with which the foundation is sealed to the top- 
bar. Split top-bars are used by many, and possess some 
advantages over most other kinds. These, however, necessi- 
tate considerable labor, as the nailing down of the top-bars 
cannot be completed till after the foundation.is inserted. 
Mr. 8. Goodrich has invented a machine for fastening full 
sheets of foundation to the top and sides of frames having 
flat top-bars (fig. 74). 
Starters two or three inches long will not always insure 
straight combs, but, of course, are much better than empty 
frames ; full sheets are much more satisfactory. 
In hiving swarms, if very strong, we would throw them on 
full sheets and a full complement, to prevent concentrating 
Fic. 75.—Grooved Board for Cutting Starters. 
too much weight on a few ; but if building up, then give full 
sheets, in the center of the brood nest, only as fast as they 
can use them. 
For cutting it into strips of uniform size, for starters in 
sections, a grooved board (fig. 75) may be used ; the distance 
between the grooves corresponding to the width of the strips 
desired to be cut. Several kinds are now made so thin that 
it can be used to advantage in surplus honey. If natural 
comb be used in surplus, IT MUST be new and nice. Any 
other is but a damage to its sale as well as to its flavor. 
Bees bred in new comb are generally much larger than 
those reared in old. The cells in the old comb become 
smaller every year, as every bee that is hatched in them 
leaves its silky cocoon adhering to the walls of the cell, thus 
diminishing its size, and, consequently, the size of the bee. 
