THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



67 



The above, uot particularly relevant to 

 the subject of fouudatiou, is a point that 

 justice is never out of place. "The Michigan 

 convention foundation," while not strictly 

 an invention, is practically such. That 

 there are logical reasons for believing that 

 such foundation will prove a great success 

 is shown l)y the fact that enough practical 

 and skillful bee keepers were to be found 

 in a State convention willing to put up the 

 money necessary to cause such a machine to 

 be made as would test the idea. Has any 

 other State or National convention done as 

 much ? 



During the long period that foundation 

 has been used, many changes in environ- 

 ment have taken place. E irly in the sixties, 

 when dealers were anxious to come into my 

 yard and pack and ship, at their own ex- 

 pense, comb honey, and pay spot cash at 

 the rate of 40 to 42 cts. per ponud, by the 

 ton, may now ha placed in striking contrast 

 with the fact that mucli belter comb honey, 

 put up in the finest shipping style, is com- 

 pelled to hunt a market at Vlji cts. per 

 pound. Foundation made its advent when 

 all the wax that bees would or could use in 

 making combs was regarded by the honey 

 producer as a profitable use for their money. 

 At that time the U. S. exported wax and 

 imported honey. Now all is changed, the 

 U. S. imports wax and exports honey. 



All other considerations, except relative 

 profit, laid aside and the necessity of using 

 foundation acknowledged, as is the case 

 with all skillful bee-keepers, it is reasonable 

 to infer that the lightest foundation that 

 will not sag is the judicious type to use. A 

 careful analysis of conditions has led me 

 to infer that the sagging of foundation 

 (which has made wired foundation and 

 wired frames a necessity ) is uot the result 

 of the heat ot the hive, neither the weight 

 of the bees ujion it. What then, every one 

 will ask, is it "r" If the sejitum of the finest 

 piece of natural comb, after removing the 

 honey and cells is placed in a sur- 

 plus receptacle it will not sag. Every bee- 

 keeper who has seen his light foundation 

 warp, and sag, and and curl, will ask, why 

 does the one differ from the other? Cer- 

 tainly the foundation aei-ms an exact du- 

 plicate of the natural. It is not neces- 

 sary to use spectacles to observe the differ- 

 ence, but for a moment imagine the vision 

 of the bee, which disctrna perhaps even 

 better than the X ray, lalmring under the 



flattering delusion that foundation is the 

 real, genuine work of a true artist. It is 

 not a wonder that she tries to improve it and 

 that all sorts of calamities befall her well 

 meant efforts. Does any one suppose a 

 wren could build a chimney swallow's nest ? 

 Yet both are made of small, short joints of 

 twigs. 



Whether a thin sheet of wax could be 

 made so nearly, the duplicate of natural 

 comb that the edges of the hexagonal bottom 

 would not be changed by the bees while 

 trying to thin the hexagonal base, was the 

 problem under consideration by the Mich- 

 igan State B. K. convention, not as a pro- 

 gram topic, but incidentally. As a result of 

 the discussion, in considaration of the fact 

 that no machine foundation had ever been 

 tried or made of even a similar form, or 

 based on the same theoretical principles, 

 and that the expense would be heavy on any 

 who should make the experiment alone, Mr, 

 Hutchinson, the secretary, suggested that 

 those interested pay what they saw fit, and 

 make a machine and experiment, and re- 

 port at the next annual convention. The 

 money was at once subscribed, the machine 

 has been made, and the lightest foundation 

 ever produced has been made under the 

 Weed process, and samples sent to all the 

 original subscribers to the machine fund. 

 The machine is the property of the original 

 subscribers — and any amount desirable to 

 make can be made. 



Fabwell, Mich, March, 15, 1897. 



The Value of Drawn Combs in a Short 

 Honey Flow. 



.IAS. HAMILTON. 



Editor Review — Sir, the present discus- 

 sion, of the use of drawn comb in the pro- 

 duction of comb honey revives an old idea. 

 With all due respect for our veteran friend 

 Baldridge I can but think his plan of hav- 

 ing full sheets drawn out in brood chamber, 

 and then cut and waxed into sections, other 

 than pure, simple and undefiled nonsense — 

 too much puttering. Some one advised 

 burning all unfinished sections of the pre- 

 vious year, yet, in the face of such advice, 

 one of our senior editors dubbed that writer 

 a "bright young apairist, " 



When I had a case of such sections I did 

 not burn them, but how to save them clean 



