1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



915 



GENERAL AVERAGE. 



The result of the weighing, expressed in 

 grams, was as follows: 



B 



E 



1.93:2. 3398;3.093|2. 2349 1.9664 1.8482 1. 8886:2. 083[l 6321 



G 



H 



If any one has a desire to see how these 

 weights would look in grains, he can gratify it 

 by multiplying each amount by 15.433, the 

 number of grains in a gram. 



In this connection I shall give the results ob- 

 tained from the measurements of the thickness 

 of the bases of the several kinds of foundation 

 made by A. I. Root. They will at least serve to 

 show in a measure how little the thickness of 

 the septum as it leaves the machine has to do 

 with its thickness after the bees manipulate it. 

 They are as follows, two measurements of each 

 being shown: 



I have been greatly gratified at the general 

 uniformity of the measurements as shown, and 

 the substantial agreement therewith of the re- 

 sults of the weighing. Of course, since it is 

 clearly shown that the septum of a small piece 

 of comb made from foundation varies greatly in 

 thickness at different points, any thing like 

 exact agreement in the figures could not be 

 looked for. The gratification arises, not from 

 any thing here shown with regard to the rela- 

 tive value of the foundations used in the exper- 

 iment, but because we seem to have at hand a 

 sure method of determining the value of any 

 new method of manipulating wax and making 

 foundation. Some parts of some specimens 

 measured were nearly if not quite equal in thin- 

 ness to that of the natural comb. This seems 

 to me to be a promise that all foundation can. 

 by a little patient investigation, be so made 

 that comb made from it will almost if not quite 

 equal the natural comb. Whatman has done, 

 man can do. We have not alone the fear of the 

 "fishbone" to prompt us to this work. What 

 an enormous amount of wax is wasted in that 

 foundation whose septum the bees will reduce 

 to but ten one-thousandths of an inch, if it 

 might have been made so that they would 

 reduce the septum to five one-thousandths of 

 an inch! Or, put it in another way: If founda- 

 tion whose septum the bees would reduce to 

 nine one-thousandths of an inch is worth 60 cts. 

 per lb., how much is that worth whose septum 

 the bees would reduce to six one-thousandths 

 of an inch ? Numerous other questions will be 

 suggested to the thoughtful mind. Thus, many 

 will ask, " Does the thinness of the comb depend 

 upon the character of the machine from which 

 the foundation came, or does the method of 

 preparing the wax for the machine determine 

 the matter? These and similar questions, 

 with a little co-operation on the part of manu- 

 facturers, can now be readily settled. 



The tables, it appears to me, are extremely 

 interesting and suggestive, and it is to be hoped 

 that our ablest apiarist will study them ex- 



haustively, to the end that they may be used to 

 the utmost advantage in making further inves- 

 tigations. 



In conclusion. I shall state some of the most 

 obvious conclusions to be drawn from the tables 

 as they stand: 



1. Age is no disadvantage to foundation. 

 Thus, comb mad<» from H foundation three 

 years old is excelled by only two specimens, and 

 that so slightly that it may be accounted for by 

 the extra weight of H. 



2. If the object is to produce lightness of 

 comb, there is little advantage in thinness of 

 foundation, there being only a slight advantage 

 in the case of E over D, and a doubtful advan- 

 tage of B over A, while F and G have about a 

 "stand oft'." 



."i. Without regard to extra weight of founda- 

 tion, comb made from foundation from the 

 Given press is the lightest in weight. 



4. In some cases, comb from foundation close- 

 ly approaches in lightness the natural comb, 

 but hardly equals it. 



5. The thinner the bees work the septum, the 

 less is the variation in it at different points! 



Lapeer, Mich., Dec. 4. R. L. Taylor. 



INSECTS AND FLOWERS. 



AGENCY OF THE BEES IN CARRYING POLLEN. 



Picking up a paper lately which treats of 

 plants and flowers, I found these words: "Pol- 

 len is borne from flower to flower on the breeze 

 as well as on the bodies of insects; in fact, tha 

 seems to be nature's prime method of convey- 

 ing the fertilizing germs from the anthers of 

 the staminate to the pointals of the pistillate 

 blossoms." In another place in the same paper 

 I find this: " Honey is a vegetable production, 

 appearing in greater or less quantities in every 

 flower that nods to the breeze, or kisses the 

 bright sunlight. It is secreted in the flowers for 

 the purpose of attracting insects, thus securing 

 the complete fertilization of the female blos- 

 soms." 



Now, while both of the above are true in the 

 main, yet, when applied to certain plants and 

 trees, they are not true; neither is it true that 

 " every flower that nods to the breeze " secretes 

 honey. There are some points in this matter 

 which either I or other writers fail to under- 

 stand; and as it has a direct bearing on our 

 beloved pursuit (bee-keeping), perhaps a short 

 article to draw others out, so that more light 

 may be obtained, will not be amiss. 



I understand that the first purpose for which 

 the honey-bee was created was for the fertiliza- 

 tion of flowers, while the storage of honey was 

 only for the preservation of the life of the bee, 

 so that the perpetuation of the species might 

 continue for this purpose (fertilization of 

 plants) ; that man, after a period of time, found 

 that honey was good to eat, and thus utilized 

 the product secreted by the flowers and stored 

 by the bee by making it his food, while the bees 

 perished from such colonies as were robbed by 

 man; that, as the years went by, man learned 

 that the bees would store more honey than 

 their wants required, so surplus apartments 

 were furnished the bees, which were removed 

 when filled, thus leaving enough in the hive, 

 or home of the bee, to supply all its n(!eds; 

 and that from this .s')(ry>/,N.s- came the honey of 

 commerce and our industry of bee-keeping as 

 we now enjoy it. If I am correct in the above 

 (and I believe I am), the people of the world 

 have the bee-keepers to thank for bringing the 

 bee from its primeval home (the hollow tree, 

 especially as our forests are fast becoming ob- 

 literated by the advance of civilization), and 



