1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



411 



keeps getting smaller until the entire 

 amount of wax is used up. A small 

 ridge, or cell edge, however, is al- 

 ways retained, as is well known to 

 those who are in the habit of han- 

 dling comljs. This ridge strengthens 

 the combs, the thinness of whose 

 walls would render them liable to be 

 readily broken by the bees traveling 

 over them. 



Those who consider the initial cost 

 of foundation as partly an obstacle to 

 its use in a profitable way should 

 bear in mind that the investment in 

 this material is a permanent invest- 

 ment, if only they will see to it that 

 it is not destroyed by moths or mice. 

 If you use 2 or 3 pounds of founda- 

 tion in each hive, it is there to stay, 

 and when the combs which are built 

 of it become too thick or too dirty to 

 use, the beeswax in it is still there, 

 with probably some addition by the 

 bees, and about two-thirds of the ini- 

 tial cost may be saved for future 

 combs. 



the stand, and an inch deeper than 

 the largest can I have to use. The 

 frame is put in place, and an inch of 

 cement, mixed three to one, poured 

 in. Let this set a little, then push 

 into it the empty cans, open end 

 down. When the cement in the frame 

 is stiiT enough so that the cans will 

 stay down, fill the mould with ce- 

 ment and leave it to set. 



A quart tin can is about four inches 

 in diameter and five inches high. 

 Twelve of them set an inch apart and 

 allowing an inch on each side and 

 each end will measure five inches 

 deep, sixteen (16) inches wide and 

 twenty-one (21) inches long. They 

 have a cubic capacity of about 690 

 inches. The frame, which is 16x21x6 

 inches inside, contains 2016 cubic 

 inches, so almost 33 per cent of the 

 cement is saved, and there will be no 

 loss of strength, while the stand will 

 not be quite so cold as though made 

 of solid cement, owing to the 690 cu- 

 bic inches of air confined in the cans. 



Buck Grove, la. 



A Use for Old Tin Cans 



By A. F. Bonney. 



IN the United States millions of tin 

 cans of from four ounces to a 

 quart capacity are utterly lost 

 annually, and while this waste can- 

 not be avoided, I conceived the idea 

 that I could save what I emptied in 

 the kitchen. 



I have to make several cement hive 

 stands this spring, and as I have nei- 

 ther • boulders nor broken rock to 

 save cement, I decided to work as 

 follows : Make a mould the size of 



Charter Oak Fair 



By J. E. Crane 



CHARTER OAK fair held at Hart- 

 ford, Conn., is of more than or- 

 dinary interest to beekeepers. 

 In addition to a fine hall 40.\80 feet, 

 near the entrance to the grounds, they 

 have a premium list of some $500, as 

 well as concessions for selling honey, 

 wax, honey sandwiches, etc., making 

 it worth while for beekeepers to put 

 time and expense into their efforts 

 to get up an attractive display. 



THE FOLOPPE BROTHERS 



In addition to a large display of 

 comb and extracted honey there were 

 over forty single-comb glass hives of 

 various races of bees, as well as 

 queens caged ready to mail; fine dis- 

 plays of wax, beekeepers' supplies, 

 canned fruit, vegetables and cooked 

 food. 



While the quality of honey was not 

 all perhaps equal to some former 

 years, owing to an unusual amount 

 of honeydcw in many parts of New 

 England, yet the improvement in the 

 exhibits over six or eight years ago 

 was very noticeable. 



The exhibits of beeswax were very 

 fine. Many of them were so nearly 

 even in quality that the judge was 

 not a little embarrassed in deciding 

 who should receive the highest 

 prizes. 



Connecticut was formerly thought 

 to be a rather poor section for bee- 

 keeping and that not many years ago, 

 but one is surprised to learn of the 

 yields of honey that enterprising bee- 

 keepers are now securing, who are 

 giving almost their entire attention 

 to the business. The Connecticut 

 State Beekeepers' Association has 

 doubtless done much in developing 

 this industry in the State. 



One of the interesting things about 

 this fair was that it was held open, 

 not only during the day, but well into 

 the night. Located near a large city, 

 a multitude of people could come at 

 night who had no time for it during 

 the day. There was a larger attend- 

 ance on some nights than during the 

 day. 



Another unique feature of the fair 

 was the concessions for the sale of 

 honey, wa.x and other things con- 

 nected with this industry. How nat- 

 ural if one sees a nice display of 

 honey to want to buy a section or a 

 bottle to take home with other things 

 from the fair! Partly filled sections 

 are sometimes cut across from cor- 

 ner to corner into four pieces, each 

 side having a triangular piece of 

 comb attached to it, to ht eaten clear. 

 How much better to sell honey to a 

 crowd in the form of a sandwich. A 

 small wheaten roll weighing two or 

 three ounces is cut ooen and a thin 

 slice of honey one-fourth or three- 

 eighths of an inch thick is placed be- 

 tween and the two halves of the roll 

 closed, making a delicious morsel for 

 a lunch. Honey fizz made from a 

 preparation of honey and soda wa- 

 ter had a large sale and is a most 

 healthful, palatable and nutritious 

 drink. So great was the demand for 

 these refreshments on the first day of 

 the fair, when there was an immense 

 crowd, that over 1,800 five-cent tick- 

 ets were sold, each ticket entitling 

 the owner to a glass of honey fizz or 

 a honey sandwich. 



I understand that the sale of honey 

 at the Eastern States Dairy Show at 

 Springfield, Massachusetts, last year 

 was very satisfactory. The demand 

 for honey appears to be on the in- 

 crease when brought to the attention 

 of people. No less than four diflfer- 

 ent parties were selling honey. One 

 of these was selling ounce cakes of 

 wax, as well as honey, for five cents a 

 cake. He had sold out before the 

 close of the fair. The price for which 



