132 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



FeT). 27, 



require the same size of hive or the same management, to ob- 

 tain best results. 



Can anyone suppose for a moment that the same kind of 

 hive and same management would apply, whether the bees 

 could work one month in 12, or 4 months in 12, or 8, 10 or 

 12 months in 12 ? I think not. Youngsville, Pa. 



Comparison of Section Comb Foundation. 



BY HON. E. L. TAYLOE, 



Superiitteiident of tlie Miclilrjayi Experiment Apiary. 



In making an experiment with comb foundation, 

 I pursued a course differing in some respects from that 

 pursued in former experiments. In the first place all the sam- 

 ples made by others to be used in the experiment were pro- 

 cured in such a way that none of the manufacturers could 

 know that it was to be used by me except the single one which 

 I will explain here is a foundation made by a machine got up 

 by the A. I. Root Co. to make foundation in imitation of that 

 produced by the Given press though the machine itself is a 

 roller mill. Then instead of using a single sample of Given 

 foundation of my own manufacture for comparison as in form- 

 er experiments I used two— one was freshly made from wax se- 

 lected on account of its bright yellow color and its hard, brittle 

 character, from a lot of wax which was mostly purchased, and 

 perhaps from five to ten per cent, of the selection was made 

 from cappings. On account of the character of this wax the 

 proper sheeting of it for use in the Given press was decidedly 

 more difficult than is ordinarily the case, as the sheets were so 

 prone to crack in cooling and when they did not crack they 

 were considerably inclined to roll or crinkle. The other was 

 made last year and was from the lot used in making the test a 

 year ago. In the table the former is simply denominated 

 Given while the latter is called the Old Given. 



In addition to the three mentioned I procured a sample 

 from each of the three following manufacturers, viz.: C. Dadant 

 & Son, The A. I. Root Co., and M. H. Hunt. 



The method of comparison pursued was the same as was 

 employed in last year's trial. Sections nine to the foot were 

 used in cases holding 36 such sections without separators, the 

 theory, I may repeat, being that the kind of foundation best 

 adapted to such use would be worked first and drawn out farth- 

 est by the bees, and so be found to contain the most honey. 

 To make the test a fair one, each case was filled with one of 

 the sorts of foundation selected for the trial and the other 

 half with another sort, the two sorts being made to alternate 

 throughout. 



As will be seen, the Given foundation made from the hard 

 yellow wax is the kind selected with which to compare each of 

 the other sorts. The table following, in addition to the dis- 



TABLE SHOWING RESULTS OF C0NPARI80N. 



No. of Pieces No of ft Weight of i4 Per ct. Per ct. 

 Designation. SJii in. square to the lb] case of honey of of 



to the lb. " lbs. oz. excess, deficit. 



JDadaafB-. 128 12.49 11 11 6.5 



I Given .... 108 10 54 12 8 



1 Hoot's 112 10.92 11 9 8 



IGiven 113 10 92 10 11 



( Hoot-Glven 96 9,39 12 6 3.6 



"I Given 104 10.14 11 15 



J Hunt's 120 11.70 10 8 15 



(Given 113 10.92 9 2 



(Old Given.. 100 9.75 12 23 



IGiven 96 9.39 9 12 



tinguishing designation, shows in each case the number of 

 pieces 3% inches square to the pound, the number of feet to 

 the pound, and the weight of 18 sections. It is hardly neces- 

 sary to say that the record of each parcel of Given foundation 

 is placed next in position to the record of that sort with which 

 it was compared, thus that treated in the second line of the 

 table was compared with that in the first line, that in the 

 fourth line with that in the third line, and so on. 



A word of caution may be necessary lest on a cursory ex- 

 amination of the table some should be misled into fixing the 

 standing of the several foundations considered from the col- 

 umn giving the weight of the honey produced. For instance, 

 in the second line of the table the Given foundation is shown 

 to carry 12jj pounds of honey — the highest amount shown — 

 but that this fact should not be used as an argument in favor 

 of that foundation appears when it is considered that other 

 kinds figure in cases generally less well filled as well as with 

 different antagonists, so to speak. 



The columns containing the per cent, of excess and deficit 

 as found from a comparison of each with the " common term" 



furnishes a far better criterion. By the use of this it appears 

 that the old Given, though manufactured at least a year be- 

 fore, easily leads all the others in quality, But what is the 

 most remarkable is the great difference shown in the quality 

 of the two samples of Given foundation, and that this is in 

 favor of that sample which had been much the longer made as 

 well as somewhat lighter in weight. No one was ever heard 

 to afHrm that age improves the quality of foundation, and with 

 good reason, so the explanation of the discrepancy must be 

 sought elsewhere. Undoubtedly it is to be found in the char- 

 acter of the wax from which the two samples of foundation 

 were made. The hard, brittle character of the wax from 

 which the freshly-made Given foundation came guaranteed its 

 inferiority. If this is true, and it will hardly be questioned, 

 the quality of the wax cuts as great a figure in the quality of 

 the foundation produced as does the method of its manufac- 

 ture, perhaps more. This suggests important questions for 

 future experiments such as the following : Whence does wax 

 derive the undesirable consistency referred to ? Does it come 

 from the character of the honey from which it is produced or 

 from excessive boiling, or from some other occult cause ? If 

 the injury is caused by boiling, what amount of heat is effect- 

 ual in doing the injury ? Again, is there any way in which 

 the quality of such wax can be "annealed" by a proper at- 

 tention to temperature at the time of sheeting it? Is such 

 claim well founded ? 



Nothing farther need be added in explanation of the table 

 and scarcely more could be said to enforce its lessons. — Review. 



Lapeer, Mich. 



Report of the Illinois State Convention Held at 

 Chicago, Jan. 9 and lO, IS96. 



BEPORTED BY ERNEST R. BOOT. 



(Continued from page 117.) 



Second Day— Forenoon Session. 



NUMBER OP COLONIES TO BEGIN WITH. 



Question. — "How many colonies should a beginner com- 

 mence with, in order to attain success ?" 



This matter was put to a vote, and a majority seemed to 

 think that two was about right. 



Mr. Baldridge — The proper answer to this question would 

 depend upon whether the beginner was to have some one to 

 show him. He might then start with four or five. Ordinarily, 

 one will be enough. 



COST OF PRODUCING A POUND OF HONEY". 



Question. — "Prof. Cook states that the cost of producing 

 honey is, for extracted, 5 to 8 cents; comb, 5 to 7 cents. 

 What is included in these cost figures ?" 



President — Prof. Cook would have 

 probably figured on foundation, hives, 

 and interest on the money. 



DEVELOPING THE HOME HONEY-MAEKET. 



Question. — " How can bee-keepers best develop and hold 

 the home market for honey ?" 



President — I will tell you what I did. I put up some 

 honey in Muth jars, and took them to the nearest market. 

 That year there was some of the vilest honey stored that I 

 ever had. I took that and put it on the market. I spoiled 

 the trade. Some of the consumers insisted that the honey 

 was adulterated, and others that it was not good. 



Mr. York — But what did you do to Iwld the trade ? 



President — I didn't hold it ! 



Mr. Schrier — I sell all my honey at home. It advertises 

 itself so well that I frequently get mail orders for a second 

 lot. If, however, I send honey away, it is always the best. 

 Around home I can sell almost anything, because people all 

 know me ; but the honey must be clean. I find I can sell dark 

 as well as light honey. 



Question. — " What is your usual crop?" 



to answer this. He 

 labor, winter losses, 



