53° 



Journal of Ai^ric////Nrc. Victoria. [lo Sept.. 1912. 



withstanding all efforts to suppress their production, the aggregate number 

 is quite sufficient under the conditions of closer proximity of colonies. 



A sheet of foundation is embossed with the pattern of worker comb,. 

 25 cells to the square inch, and as the inside dimensions of a standard'' 

 frame are 17 inches by 8 inches, there are 3,400 cells on each sire, a total 

 of 6,800. Making a liberal allowance of cells for the storage of honey 

 and pollen around, the brood, a comb of all worker cells produces fully 

 4,500 worker bees (i lb. live weight) in one generation," while the same- 

 comb, but composerl of drone cells, would, with the same allowance for 

 storage cells, produce 2,900 drones. The amount of food and labour 

 necessary for the raising of 4,500 workers is probably the same as for 2,900- 

 drones, but while the workers, from a few days after hatching onwards,, 

 engage in productive work, the drones remain consumers to the end. 



Further, the presence of large numbers of drones in the hive stimulates.^ 

 the swarming impulse of bees by causing crowding of the brood combs and' 

 that condition of the colony which precedes swarming. It will be seeii 

 from the above that the use of all worker combs not only increases the- 

 amount of surplus honey, but also counteracts in a large measure the 



FIG. 2. COMB FROM FULL SHF.E 1 (Jl 1 ( )1 Nl lA I K iN . ,\l,l. WORKER CELLS. 



swarming propensity of bees. Under certain conditions, which will be 

 dealth with later on, the use of starters instead of full sheets is not only- 

 permissible but even advisable. 



2. Faster Comb-building. 



Apart from the advantages of using full sheets of foundation enumer- 

 ated above, the saving of the time of the bees by the quicker building of 

 the combs and the consequent greater and earlier storing of surplus honey 

 will amply repay the extra cost of foundation. Up to a few years ago 

 it was assumed that when given full sheets of foundation the bees used no- 

 wax of their own secretion and wasted that which they secrete involuntarily 

 when swarming, while quite recently the prevention of the exercise of one 

 of their natural functions, the secretion of wax, has been held responsible 

 for impaired vitality and consequent predisposition to disease. Experi- 

 ments have shown, however, that no wax is wasted, and wax secretion not 

 interfered with. A sheet of foundation of the grade generallv used weigh.s- 

 2 ozs., while the finished comb built from it weighs 35 to 4 ozs., shownig" 

 that an equal or nearly equal quantity of wax of their own secretion was; 

 added by the bees. In another experiment, when foundation of a different 

 colour to that of the wax secreted bv the bees was used, a cross-section of 



