gijEanings in bee culture 



FOUNDATION ECONOMY 



BY C. V. CONOVER 



Diu'ing each of the last tAvo seasons I 

 used a number of supers of sections fitted 

 with foundation cut and used as illustrated. 

 In every case the results were equal in evei'y 

 respect to those obtained by using nearly 

 full sheets of foundation and bottom start- 

 ers as advocated by Dr. C. C. Miller. My 

 plan seems to be about the one way of plac- 

 ing foundation in sections that is not shown 

 or described in the ABC and X Y Z of 

 Bee Culture. 



This arrangement of foundation produc- 

 ed finished sections in which the comb was 

 straight and was attached on all four sides 

 without corner holes. There was never any 

 trouble with buckling of foundation due to 

 sections or foundation being out of square, 

 or from expansion when placed on the hive, 

 as is often the case when full or nearly full 

 sheets are used. The foundation is not so 

 liable to fall from accidental rough han- 

 dling before it reaches the bees, as the weight 

 on the top where it is fastened is reduced a 

 half, and the weight remaining is concen- 

 trated nearer the line of attachment. But 

 the advantage over Dr. Miller's plan lay in 

 the saving of foundation which was effect- 

 ed. With 4Vt X 4% sections this saving 

 amounts to about 45 per cent of the founda- 

 tion. With 4V4 X 414 sections it would be a 

 trifle less, as the bottom starter occupies a 

 relatively larger portion of the space in this 

 shape of section. 



The one disadvantage was the trouble of 

 cutting and fastening the gi'eater number of 

 pieces of foundation. The cutting was not 

 a serious matter; and as I fastened all foun- 

 dation with melted wax, the fixing of the 

 extra piece of the top starter merely took a 

 little more time in placing the pieces, but 

 offered no further obstacle. I imagine that, 



with a little ingenuity, the hot plate fasten- 

 ers could be made to handle these pieces 

 with the exjienditure of a little more time on 

 each. 



I figured that the saving effected by this 

 means, over the use of bottom starters and 

 full top starters reaching within i/4 in. of 



tlie bottom starter, amounted to ^4 <?ent per 

 section Avhen using extra-thin super founda- 

 tion at 70 cts. per lb., and a little more than 

 that when using thin super at 60 cts. per 

 pound. This is not a great amount in it- 

 self, and often would be offset by the extra 

 time necessary; but for any one who is long 

 on time and short on money it offers an 

 excellent oppoi'tunity to make the one take 

 the place of the other without any sacrifice 

 of results. 

 Flint. Mich. 



A SIMPLE WATERING ARRANGEMENT 



BY D. E. LHOMMEDIEU 



When setting bees out of winter quarters 

 I was desirous of getting them started at a 

 watering-place close by, so they would not 

 go to the neighbor's well. I started them 

 by setting out wheat flour before they gath- 

 ered natural pollen. They went wild on 

 the flour. By placing the water-dishes close 

 by they commenced to carry water too. The 

 bees seemed to take the flour so fast I final- 

 ly substituted some reddog — finely ground 

 shorts for stock-feeding purposes. Tiiey 



soon quit working, and commenced with tie 

 regular wheat flour as fast as ever. 



To return to the watering, I tried putting 

 in about a heaping teaspoonful of salt to 

 12 or 15 quarts of water. Tn some dishes 

 T put no salt. The bees practically left the 

 dishes that were not salted. 



To devi.se a watering-place for 10 els., 

 l)uy a candy-pail; put in two teasjjoonfuls 

 of salt; fill with water, and cover the top 

 with corn cobs. Tn a few days, when they 



