THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



99 



oaght to be our motto, and if a product can 

 be cheapened, that is, produced at lese coat, 

 the producer does not snrt'er, while the con- 

 sumer is benefitted. 



In brief, there is only one ground upon 

 which I would condemn the new comb, and 

 I have already given this objection, viz., 

 that I fear that the combs will be too leathery. 

 We all know the character of comb founda- 

 tion. It is tough and leathery compared to 

 natural comb. Comb built by the bees is 

 composed of little fragments of wax stuck 

 together by the bees. It is light, fragile, 

 brittle, friable, and crumbles up when it is 

 chewed. When it is melted these little par- 

 ticles all run together and become one 

 homeogeneous mass — a substance that when 

 warmed slightly is quite tough, leathery 

 and pliable. It is no longer comb, it is bees- 

 wax. We all know this. There is no use of 

 arguing this point as it is admitted. When 

 it is made into foundation and the bees 

 build comb upon it, its character still re- 

 mains. Anyone who has eaten comb honey 

 built upon foundation knows that the foun- 

 dation is not changed in character. It is 

 still tough and leathery. Often, in eating 

 comb honey we cut down as far as the foun- 

 dation and take off the piece of comb, 

 leaving the foundation untouched. The 

 next piece will be taken off in a similar 

 manner. Finally, the honey is all removed 

 from one side of the piece of comb. Then 

 it is turned over and the honey similarly re- 

 moved from the other side, leaving the 

 foundation intact. I have seen this done on 

 onr table quite frequently. Talk as we will, 

 the " fishbone " is not de^^irable, it is not 

 palatable, no one wants it. As I have fre- 

 quently said, lean see iii> reason why walls 

 made of similar material and in a manner 

 similar to that by which the foundation is 

 made, should be of a different character 

 after the bees have completed them and till- 

 ed them with honey, and were it not that Mr. 

 Root sn\is that the bees i/n change the charac- 

 ter of the walls, make them so that it is im- 

 possible to detect them from the natural 

 comb, did he not most emphatically make 

 such assertions, I should unhesitatingly con- 

 demn and oppose the whole thing. I feel that 

 I must wait until I have tested the product. 

 I know that there is such a thing as an un- 

 conscious bias. Even the judge on the 

 bench admits this. Self interest pre- 

 judices a man's faculties. There are just a 

 few things that Bro. Hoot is doing that I 



wish he would not do, and, now that so much 

 is being said on the subject, I hope that he 

 will pardon me if I mention them. Perhaps 

 I can include them all under one head. By 

 the use of his journal he is trying to grad- 

 ually build up, in advance, a sentiment in 

 favor of the new product. First, he gives a 

 sketch and portrait of Mr. Weed, giving 

 him the highest praise as an inventor ( mind 

 I am not saying that he does not deserve it,) 

 then in a latter issue of Gleanings come two 

 pages describing the ne.v product, noticing 

 the criticisms against it and giving illustra- 

 tion showing how thin it can be made. The 

 idea seems to be brought out that if it can 

 be made as thin as the natural comb nothing 

 more can be desired, the question of the 

 character of the material seems to be put in 

 the background. Then there is talk about 

 consumers liking " fishbone " to chew on. 

 Again, we are asked not to talk so much 

 about " fishbone. " Now, Bro. Root may 

 not have thought of it in this light, but it 

 looks as though he was were trying to work 

 up, in advance a sentiment in favor of this 

 product. I have asked my readers to sus- 

 pend judgement until they could try the 

 product themselves and now I wish that Bro. 

 Root would stop trying to help them to 

 make up their minds in advance. Perhaps 

 Bro. Root had no such intention, in fact, he 

 may never have thought of it in the light in 

 which I have put it, but, while I have 

 no disposition to dictate, it does seem as 

 though, in view of the fact that nearly all 

 that can be said upon the subject will be 

 theorizing, that it would be better to simply 

 suspend judgement and keep quiet until 

 wholly disinterested parties can test the 

 matter. 



A Condensed View of Current 



Bee Writings. 



E. E. HASTY. 



ra^TAND a little back, boys, and look sharp 



k£) for stray missiles; here's as pretty a fight 



as we often see. 



" Foundation walls one-half inch deep will be 

 an abomination. " W. Z. 



"— Attribnting to it certain qualities which it 

 hart not, and by toUint,' how it was inarto when 

 he (iidn't know anytliiiiK about it." Ernest. 



However Mr. Root took off the rough angles 



of his brick by saying in advance that Mr. 



Hutchinson did not mean this which he has 



done. 



