THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



scientific series of experiments to prove 

 how bees utilize a.id manage the wax that 

 is furnished them in comb foundation; 

 and he has pubhshed a bulletin of 28 

 pages in which these experiments are de- 

 scribed, illustrated and explained by 

 means of numerous tables, cuts, etc. 



Very few people will take the time to 

 wade through these tables in an attempt 

 to learn the lesson they are supposed to 

 unfold, and, for this reason. Prof. Gillette 

 has done a very sensible thing: in the 

 back part of the pamphlet he has devoted 

 nearly two pages to a "Summarv' of the 

 More Important Conclusions;" which I 

 take great pleasure in copying. They 

 are as follows: — 



Bees use freely the wax in foundation 

 to extend both the midrib and the cell 

 walls of honey comb. 



The heavier the foundation used, the 

 heavier, as a rule, will be the comb built 

 upon it. 



If the midrib of a foundation is much 

 lighter than that of natural comb, the 

 bees are likelvto strengthen it by adding 

 wax to the bottom of the cells. 



If the midrib of the foundation is 

 thicker than the midrib of natural comb, 

 it will result in a comb with a midrib 

 thicker than the natural. Or, to state it 

 differentlv, the bees will not thin the 

 midrib of a foundation down to the thick- 

 ness of worker comb built in the natural 

 way. 



Midribs oi foundation that are not more 

 than .17 of a millimeter (.007 inch) in 

 thickness, are thinned little or none by 

 the bees. 



Drone comb has a thicker midrib and 

 heavier cell walls than worker comb. 



A foundation with a heavv midrib and 

 very slight cell walls, will still produce a 

 comb with heavv cell walls. 



Very high cell walls in foundation are 

 not cut down to the thinness of cell walls 

 in natural comb. 



The thin and extra thin and the "1899" 

 deep-cell foundations produce a comb 

 that approximates very closely the light- 

 ness of that which is naturally made by 

 the bees. 



When heavv foundations are used, the 

 extra weight of the comb built upon them 

 is due more to the extra weight of the 

 cell walls than to the heavier midrib. 



When verv light foundations are used, 

 the somewhat heavier comb is due almost 



entirely to the midrib being heavier than 

 that of natural comb. 



When foundations containing an abund- 

 ance of wax to build the entire comb are 

 used, the bees still add much more wax, 

 sometimes nearly enough to build the 

 comb without the help of the wax in the 

 foundation. 



Wax seems to be given with the best 

 econonn' when the midrib of the founda- 

 tion is of the thickness of the midrib of 

 natural comb, and when there is a small, 

 or at most a moderate, amount of wax in 

 the cell walls. 



Poorly attached combs in sections seem 

 to be more the result of weak colonies 

 and poor honey-flow than to the kind of 

 starter that is used; though large start- 

 ers and strips of foundation in the bottom 

 of the sections do help to strengthen the 

 union of comb to the section. 



Separators between the sections are 

 essential to the best results in producing 

 comb honey. 



The thicker the comb, whether natural 

 or artificial, the greater the proportion of 

 hone\' to wax in it. 



In natural worker comb, one inch thick, 

 the proportion of wax to honey is between 

 1 to 20 and I to 25 by weight. 



ROBBER BEES. 



h is Well to Avoid Trouble, but Danger from 

 Robbers is often Exaggerated. 



The management of bees during a time 

 when they will rob is something that 

 calls for experience and good judgment. 

 It is very unpleasant to have the bees so 

 educated that they will follow the bee- 

 keeper about, ready to pounce into a hive 

 the moment it is opened. On the other 

 hand, a bee-keeper ought not to believe 

 that he cannot open a hive at a time 

 when bees will rob. Eor excellent ad- 

 vice on this subject I have seen nothing 

 better than the following article by C. 

 Davenport, in the American Bee Journal: 



In the long ago, when I was young in 

 years, and in bee-keeping also, I spent 

 considerable time in anxiously watching 

 hives when young bees were rushing in 

 and out during their exercise or play- 

 .spell, wondering if it was not a case of 

 robbing. The subject of robbing was in 

 those davs a sort of nightmare affair with 



