May, 191 1. 



American ^ee Jiournal 



Before describing the experimental 

 method adopted, it seems to us indis- 

 pensable to determine and make known 

 some data, for we are able to operate 

 only by successive gropings, and in a 

 manner somewhat empirical, on the 

 whole. 



If we furnish to a colony, during the 

 good season, sheets of foundation of 

 different thicknesses, three cases may 

 introduce themselves: 



1. Sheets too thin, which the bees 

 must complete. This addition of wax 

 furnished by the insect will translate 

 itself, for the apiarist, into a loss which 

 will be proportionate to the difference 

 e.xisting between the honey consump- 

 tion of the bee and her producion of 

 wax. Moreover, in certain circum- 

 stances, the cells may be brought to 

 their normal depth, but the construc- 

 tion will then be so fragile that under 

 the double influence of heat and weight, 

 it will be liable to break down. (As it 

 is difficult to obtain thin sheets with 

 the foundation press, this will happen 

 only in the case of ill-built sheets, one 

 side of which would be too thick, while 

 the other edge may lack in material.) 



2. Too thick sheets furnishing an 

 excess of beeswax. This surplus will 

 doubtless be utilized, but often at the 

 expense of regularity of the combs ; 

 and as it is in no tvay intlisfensable, it 

 will occasion, for a large apiary, a very 

 positive loss, in view of the high price 

 of the beeswax furnished. 



3. Lastly, a sheet of such thickness 

 as will hold a medium between the two 

 preceding examples. Supplying enough 

 raw material that the worker may suc- 

 ceed to give the cell a suflicient stretch 

 without having to make any addition, 

 yet leaving a sufficient thickness to 

 secure rigidity. 



We therefore consider the sheet 

 which will fulfill these conditions as 

 the type of rational comb foundation. 



In regard to the thickness of the 

 built comb we will consider it as 2b to 

 26 millimeters (inch .994 to 1.033) cap- 

 pings not included, admitting that the 

 wax in the cappings and their joint 

 with the cell-wall should always be fur- 

 nished by the wa.x-worker. The above 

 being established we will now approach 

 the experimental part. 



We could attain our aim by different 

 methods. For instance, by weighing 

 each sheet given to be built, and weigh- 

 ing it again after being finished, de- 

 ducting anything which might falsify 

 the weight, frame, wire, propolis, etc. 

 Although this method appears suffi- 

 ciently exact, we did not resort to it, 

 preferring a process which would per- 

 mit us to ascertain, de ti'su, where the 

 addition of wax by the wax-builders 

 began in a sheet too thin, and would 

 inform us otherwise upon the manage- 

 ment followed by the bee in the case 

 where she can not have an excess of 

 wax at her disposal. 



To reach this result we have caused 

 our bees to work upon colored sheets, 

 which would not exclude a positive 

 control by weight also, and as you will 

 see farther this trial has succeeded. 



The search for a coloring pigment 

 stopped us for some time, for we needed 

 an innocuous substance capable of dye- 

 ing pure beeswax without communi- 

 cating to it either taste or odor. In 

 fact, although beeswax may be easily 



dyed while mixed with certain other 

 substances, we must acknowledge that 

 we found some difficulty in coloring it 

 in an absolutely natural condition. 

 After a few unsuccessful eft'orts, we 

 finally obtained wax of a free shade 

 without marblings. the color of which 

 contrasted neatly with that of an ordi- 

 nary comb, while remaining entirely 

 harmless to the bees. 



Sheets were made of different thick- 

 nesses by the use of a Rietsche press, 

 measuring 764 cells to the square deci- 



FiG. I. — Cross-section of a sheet of founda- 

 tion—natural size. 

 Fig. 2— Cross-section of a sheet of founda- 

 tion in process of construction- 

 natural size. 



meter. [This is about 10 percent larger 

 than natural worker size. — Translator.] 

 Carefully measured and weighed, these 

 sheets gave 85 to 115 square decim. to 

 the kilog. [4.15 to 5.63 sq. feet to the 

 lb.] We even reached nearly 120 decim. 

 [5.87 sq. ft.], but the obtaining of such 

 thin sheets can not be reached in ordi- 

 nary work, as the press must be per- 

 fectly regulated, otherwise the middle 

 rib is produced only partly. Even then 

 a certain sleight-of-hand and a small ap- 

 paratus are needed. Each of these 

 sheets was introduced into a colony 

 between two regular combs entirely 

 built of known weight, and whose dis- 

 tance apart had been verified. 



Although natural beeswax is an emi- 

 nently plastic substance, we all know 

 that the press causes it partly to lose 

 this quality. In dyed beeswax, one 

 sees this frailty increase, the staining 

 molecules do not make a body with the 

 mass, render it pulverulent, thus dimin- 

 ishing its cohesion to an appreciable 

 extent. 



Our bees thus had to meet some diffi- 

 culty in using this substance, however 



the combs were built, filled with honey 

 and sealed over. 



The comb which we have the oppor- 

 tunity to present to you was built upon 

 a sheet measuring 135x400 mm. [83.7 

 sq. in.], weighing 50 grammes without 

 the fastening wax. According to ad- 

 mitted units this corresponds to a sur- 

 face of 108 sq. decim. [5.27 sq. ft. to 

 the lb.] 



On the construction of this comb 

 there is but little to say, the bees having 

 followed their habitual mode of edifica- 

 tion in a complete sheet of foundation : 

 beginning in the center and extending 

 their work gradually towards the outer 

 edge. The comb which we display did 

 not escape this rule, and the harvest 

 having come, the harvest bees took 

 possession of the cells, whether finished 

 or not, to deposit their nectar. 



If we eonsider this comb as a whole, 

 we see very clearly the spots where, of 

 normal thickness, it was reached by 

 the uncapping knife. On all these cuts 

 no trace of new wax is perceptible. 

 The cappings of this part were, how- 

 ever, made with white wax, but had only 

 a filmy thickness. Around this princi- 

 pal uncapped portion, one sees the cells 

 being partially closed with deposits of 

 almost pure new wax, tending to prove 

 what we stated above, that the work of 

 lengthening had been interrupted by 

 the abundant gathering of nectar. 



Lastly, towards the top-bar a goodly 

 number of the accommodation cells 

 and the row immediately below these 

 are built of slightly dyed beeswax. One 

 would be tempted to believe, at first 

 sight, that they were short of raw ma- 

 terial in this part of their construction. 

 It is, however, not so ; on the contrary, 

 for it is almost certain that they took 

 advantage of the fastening wax, white 

 wa.x much in excess of need [we had 

 used 8H grammes of this], and whose 

 solidity and malleability must have been 

 positively superior to those of the pre- 

 pared sheet. 



Another comb, built upon a Bheet of 

 105 decim. to the kilog. [5.13 sheets to 

 the lb.], was placed in a very active 

 colony. This comb had all its cells 

 drawn to full thickness before the be- 

 ginning of the crop; after uncapping, 

 it was impossible to find a trace of 

 white wax under the knife-cut. The 

 fastening had been done with green 

 wax. Unluckily this comb was broken 

 down in transportation. 



In the thinnest sheets the thickness 

 of the wax was still sufficient to show 

 only a discoloration of the upper edge 

 of the cell. [Fig. 1]. We had but to 

 ascertain their strength by submitting 

 them to a practical test. Two of these 

 containing among the cells of honey a 

 few cells of pollen were run through a 

 honey-extractor. The machine hardly 

 reached its speed [14 to 15 meters per 

 second], when some tearing was pro- 

 duced. For a comparison, we will say 

 that identical combs containing an 

 equal quantity of pollen, but built upon 

 laminated comb foundation of 130 

 decim. to the kilog. [6.36 sq. ft. per lb.] 

 are rarely damaged at this speed, and 

 that the same holds good for founda- 

 tion made on the press up to 110 decim. 

 [5.37 sq. ft. to lb.) 



The thickest sheets presented impor- 

 tant peculiarities. The thickest sheet 

 was sealed in light green. Its cappings 



