24 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Jan. 10, 1901. 



trading- purposes, that by slipping' a sheet of foundation in 

 with the other combs, the bees will use their surplus wax 

 that they produce on this foundation, and it saves me bur- 

 combs. They don't crowd the extracting- place ; where 

 there is a surplus place they fill up, they don't crowd so ; 

 where there is no foundation in there, they will crowd every 

 spot and fill it all up with bur-combs. To overcome that 

 when I extract, I cut deep slices from the combs ; that wax 

 goes in with the cappings, and I have it in wax. That is the 

 way I overcome the bur-combs. Otherwise I claim the wax 

 would be wasted. They will produce wax when they are 

 gathering honey fast, and they must have some place to put 

 it. 



Pres. Root — With regard to this matter of foundations, 

 we have Mr. Rankin here of the Michigan Experiment 

 station who wishes to relate some of his experiments, which 

 I think will bear out the experiments already given by Prof. 

 Gillette. 



Mr. Rankin — We had some samples of foundation which 

 were made by the A. I. Root Co., of different weights, rang- 

 ing all the way from 8 to 13 sheets to the pound. The sheets 

 were the size of the Langstroth frame ; we used these foun- 

 dations in different ways thru the hives, and I used differ- 

 ent methods of wiring. We used the vertical wires, some 

 with 5 and some with 8 in a frame, and we used the hori- 

 zontal wires 4 and 8 in the frame. We found it workt the 

 best on the horizontal wires, every time. The vertical 

 wires gave no satisfaction at all. There would be a weight 

 between each wire, and the foundation stretcht. With the 

 horizontal wires the wires sagged and the foundation 

 stretcht and left a perfectly straight comb. I was showing 

 it to Prof. Gillette when he was at the college. I think he 

 would bear me out in the statement. It seemed a little bit 

 strange to me, and quite interesting, and I might say, too, 

 that the foundation with 13 sheets to the pound seemed to 

 give just as good satisfaction as that of 8 sheets to the 

 pound. I think that the lighter we get our foundation the 

 more economical, and it will answer the purpose just as 

 well. Two years ago we had an experiment in surplus 

 honey. The advantage of full sheets or half starters has 

 been clearly analyzed. It is shown there is just a little 

 over one percent more wax in the sections which had the 

 full sheets of foundation than those which had half-start- 

 ers. The foundation used was Root's extra-thin, also the 

 Dadant. There is no difference in the two foundations. 



Pres. Root — The experiments which have been given, 

 are quite interesting; they show bee-keepers have been 

 using too heavy foundation. There has been too much wax 

 in the midrib certainly, and, probably, too much in the 

 walls. The experiment which Mr. Rankin gives, that 13 

 sheets to the pound, wires horizontal, give as good results 

 as 8 sheets to the pound, wires horizontal, is quite remark- 

 able. It isn't our experience, as I remember, but it is pos- 

 sibly correct. I think it would be well for bee-keepers to 

 begin using four sheets to the pound. If you are using too 

 much wax, you ought to know it. The experiments shown 

 here, as given by Mr. Rankin, seem to indicate that you 

 can use thin foundation in the brood-frames. We have been 

 working, and so have all the foundation-makers, towards 

 lighter foundation. Several years ago, heavy foundation 

 was used by bee-keepers, and later they have been using 

 lighter foundation, which has been a great economy to the 

 bee-keepers and saved a great deal of wax as well. 



Dr. Mason — Mr. Rankin stated in putting in vertical 

 wires they sag; that hasn't been my experience. I use 

 vertical wires and make my foundation right on the wires. 

 I have tried the horizontal wires, and with me it has been a 

 failure every time ; a good deal more sag to it than with 

 the vertical wires. 



Mr. Fixter — Have any tried foundations milled at dif- 

 ferent temperatures, and found any difference in the work- 

 ing of the bees upon them ? Which do they find best — the 

 wax that is hard and stiff, or the soft, pliable wax ? 



Prof. Gillette — I have made no test. 



Mr. Rankin — I don't know anything about that. 



Mr. Taylor — In reply to this question, I may state that 

 at the time I was conducting experiments for our experi- 

 ment station in Michigan, I made an experiment upon that 

 very point ; I used wax in making foundation when it was 

 at a very low temperature, just as low as it was possible 

 and get to press it at all properly, and also at a high tem- 

 perature, and I compared them and I could see no differ- 

 ence in the results. One seemed to be workt out just as 

 well as the other. 



Mr. Rankin — I would like to ask Dr. Mason how many 

 sheets of foundation of the Langstroth size he says he gets 

 to the pound with a Given press. 



Dr. Mason — That depends altogether on how thick I 

 make the sheets. From 4 to 10 sheets. 



Mr. Taylor — You can make them 4 or 11, just as you are 

 a mind to. 



Continued next week.) 



\ Questions and Answers. \ 



CONDUCTED BY 



T>Jt.. O. O. MILLER, Marengo, ni. 



(The Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal ofBce, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editoh.1 



Drones in Worker-Cells. 



Last fall I bought a 5-banded queen, and after com- 

 mencing to lay I noticed that about half of her brood in 

 worker-cells were drones. Do such queens ever get over 

 this drone-laying business ? Or should I take off her head at 

 once ? She appeared to be laying less drone-eggs and more 

 worker-eggs after being in the colony a few weeks. 



M.\SSACHUSETTS. 



Answer. — It sometimes happens that a young queen, 

 or one that has been thru the mails, lays more or less 

 drone-eggs in worker-cells, and afterward lays as a good 

 queen ought. Don't be in too much of a hurry in deciding- 

 against her. 



Bees Leaving the Brood-Chamber—Best Hive for 

 Extracted Honey, Etc. 



1. I have had bees for four years in Langstroth hives, 

 and they always have been breeding below, but this year 

 they all went up into the supers ; some hives had no bees 

 and no honey below at all. We had a very hot summer. 

 Was it too hot for them below ? 



2. I am working for only extracted honey. Which is 

 the best hive for the purpose. 



3. Should I use a hive with 8 or 10 frames? and what 

 kind of frames are the best ? 



4. My best honey-flow is in September, and the first 

 part of October. From what flowers could that be ? 



5. In what hive can bees be handled the best and the 

 easiest ? New Jersey. 



Answers. — 1. The heat would hardly account for the 

 bees going above, for generally it is warmer above. In the 

 cases where there was neither brood nor honey below, it 

 looks as if they might have had the super or upper story all 

 winter. In that case, they might move above in the spring- 

 because it is warmer above. 



2. There is probably nothing better for you than the 

 Langstroth size of frame. 



3. For extracted honey, you will like ten frames better 

 than eight. As already said, the Langstroth size of frame, 

 17'sx9's, is not excelled. If bee-glue is not troublesome in 

 your locality, you may like he Hoffman frame, but if bee- 

 glue is plenty, it will be better to have frames spaced with 

 staples or nails. For extracting-frames it is better to have 

 in the upper story shallow frames not more than 6 inches 

 deep. The objection is that such frames can not be used in 

 the brood-chamber. 



4. Hard to tell without being on the spot. Possibly as- 

 ters or goldenrod. 



5. There isn't much to choose. Perhaps nothing better 

 than the common dovetailed hive. Remember it isn't the 

 hive that makes a diiference so much as the man, the local- 

 ity, and the bees. 



Managing Swarming in Out-Apiaries—Bees Fanning at 

 the Hive-Entrances. 



1. On page 808 (1900) " Ind." asks how you run your out- 

 apiary for comb honey. You say your latest plan was to 

 visit the yard from 5 to 7 days. How do you go to work 

 then — take out every frame and see if there are any queen- 

 cells on them ? And then you say. Destroy the eggs or 

 grubs so as to keep them from swarming. I should judge 

 that that would be quite a job, to look over an apiary of lOO 



