1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



359 



datiou. Measui-ements were taken of tlie ciimb at 

 the base, the side wall close to tlie hive, aud half an 

 ineh up the side wall. The comb was put on ice to 

 harden it for the purpose of more accurate mea- 

 surement; and three measurements were taken in 

 this case. 



Again, to see just how the bees utilized the comb 

 foundation, three tanks of melted wax were pre- 

 pared. One was colored with a preparation of alka- 

 net, another with a preparation of carbon, and the 

 tliird was pui-e beeswax, uncolored. The various 

 8tag:es In the manufactuie of comb foundation 

 were carried out, giving comb foundation from each 

 tank ten, twelve, and fifteen feet square to the 

 pound. 



Fig. 1 ic— -i\ ill- ,1 -ide viiw ntr.>iiili tiniiiilatioii, l."> sq. ft. i)er 

 pound; .lud the -auie alter tilt' comb has been completed 

 and capped by the beey. The honey has been e.xtraeted. and 

 washed away from the comb, and a section cut down, which, 

 after a thoroiiffh drying, has been filled with plaster of Paris. 



These were placed side by side, and drawn out in 

 the upper stories by the bees. It was manifested 

 in various vvay.s tliat'the bees ob,iected to the alka- 

 net, so this kind was discarded. To the foundation, 

 colored black with the preparation of carbon, the 

 bees did not obje-t. Tlie ob,iect in placing- founda- 

 tion made of ordinary wax alongside of the colored, 

 was to make measurements of eacli kind when 

 drawn out l)y the bees The measurements of the 

 colored and uncolond, being- identical, gave us a 

 basis for the statement that the bees did not object 

 to this i)reparation ; and the method of drawing- 

 this out was identical with that of ordinarj- founda- 

 tion. The base and lower part of the comb were 

 not, as we might expect, of a black color, and the 

 f resli and added wa.x white. Instead tjiere is a reg- 

 ular graduation from bhick at the base to white at 

 the top of the cell. The heavier the foundation, the 

 darker the l)ase and adjoining side wall. 



From the above it would appear reasonable to ex- 

 pect that the bees keep adding- scales of newly se- 

 creted wax and then pulling the side wall, thus 

 decreasing gradually the percentage of colored wax. 

 We also conclude that the quality of wax used in 

 the foundation has an intiuence, not only on the 

 base, but. to a certain extent, in almost the entire 

 Willi of tlie cell. The heavier the foundation, the 

 greater the intiuence on I lie side wall. Again, notes 

 ■were taken daily when the bees were beginning to 

 draw out the foundation; and although the heavier 

 foundation was s(-aitcred about in the vaiinus |);irts 

 of the upper stories, they gave the i)reference to the 

 heavier foundation, working on it first. Gi-eat cau- 

 tion must, of course, lie observed in coming to con- 

 clusions. The bees, if the heavier foundation had 

 been taken away, might have been almost as willing 

 to go to work at once upon the lighter grade. At 

 present no way appears open for conducting a sat- 

 isfactory experiment to prove any thing in this 

 direction. The measurements taken at the base of 

 the wall, and half an inch from the base, all tend to 



show that the wall is thicker at the base, and tapers, 

 becoming thinner at the mouth. So far as I am 

 aware, no one has ever made such measurements. 



The "Vandeusen" is a flat-bottom (unnatural) 

 foundation. The various specimens of this liind 

 which were put into the sections were partially cov- 

 ered to prevent the bees from touching the covered 

 portion. The remainder -was left to the bees. In 

 every case the bees changed the base from flat-bot- 

 tom to natural.' I have adopted a new method. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH FIVE BANDED ITALIAN 

 BEES. 



This is summed up in the following deduc- 

 tions: 



1st. They are below the average as to wintering 

 qualities. 



2d. They are short-lived, probably because of a 

 high-strung temperament. 



3d. They are prolific. 



4th. They are gentle, vinless when queenless. 



.5th. They are inclined to rob. 



In conclusion, I may say that the Ontario Agricul- 

 tural and Experimental Union also conducted co- 

 opeiative experiments with these bees. Nine suc- 

 cessful experiments were made, and, with the ex- 

 ception of one e-xperiment, the abo-ve results were 

 indoi-sed. 



There are three other engravings similar to 

 the one above, which I will give in our next, 

 but which for want of room we omit in this Issue. 



DEATH OF MRS. A. J. COOK. 



We have for some time been aware that the 

 wife of our good friend Prof. A. J. Cook was not 

 long destined for this world. It has been my good 

 fortune to be rather Intimately acquainted with 

 the professor's beautiful family for quite a good 

 many years, and I have always regarded Mrs. 

 Cook as one of God's own gentlewomen. I have 

 seen her amid trying seasons. I have been with 

 her and her good husband and their two chil- 

 dren, at home and abroad. You know it was 

 my good pleasure to be with them a part of the 

 time on that trip to California; and from first 

 to last I have always been impressed with the 

 fact that Mrs. Cook was one of the world's min- 

 istering angels whom we perhaps never fully 

 appreciate until God has called them away. 

 The following, from our bereaved friend, was 

 perhaps not intended for publlcition; but I feel 

 so sure all of the friends will be so glad to see it 

 I take the liberty of giving it entire. — A.I.R.] 



Dear Mr. Boo?;— The beloved wife left us last 

 Thursday, the 16th. The last few hours were full 

 of suffering and agoay, and so we rejoiced in the 

 release. You knew her beautiful spirit, and can 

 feel for us with this burden of sorrow resting upon 

 us. I never knew one more true and sincere, or 

 more thoughtful for others' comfort. Her favorite 

 text in her long days of sickness, with no promise 

 of recovery, was: "Be still, and know that I am 

 God." She was serenely quiet, and never made 

 even a whispered complaint; and God was very 

 good to her. So, while we could not pass the river 

 with her, she was not alone. Her memory will be 

 an inspiration to us in all the coming years. To see 

 such a leave-taking makes immortality sure. We 

 were all here. Burt is about well again, and goes 

 east about May 1st. Sorrowfully but truly, 



Claremont, Cal., April 20. A. J. Cook. 



