1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



361 



their own wants, and, in addition, supply the weaker colonies 

 with combs of sealed stores. 



SEALED COVERS OK UPWARD VENTILATION. 



I haven't the space to go into details ; but the experiment 

 of wintering two sets of colonies of ten each in clamps showed 

 that the set having sealed covers did not winter"nearly asjwell 



In our experiments, observations were taken along vari- 

 ous lines — first, as to what extent, if any, the bees thin the 

 base and side wall of the various thicknesses and kinds of 

 comb foundation. Measurements were made, whenever pos- 

 sible, of the weight of foundation compared with the number 

 of square feet, and the thickness of the base of foundation. 

 Measurements were taken of the comb at the base, the side 

 wall close to the hive, and half an inch up the side wall. The 



Fig. 1.— Giving aside view of comb foundation, 15 sq. ft. to the pound, 

 and above the same after the comb has been completed and 

 capped by the bees. The honey has been extracted and washed 

 away from the comb, which, after a thorough drj^ing, has been 

 filled with plaster of Paris and a section cut down. 



as those having upward ventilation. 

 ports of two years ago. 



This agrees with the re- 



COMB FODNDATION. 



Under this heading the experimenter gives some interest- 

 ing results; and, so far as I know, he proceeds upon methods 

 new and original. I can do no better than to quote nearly all 

 he has to say on this subject : 



The use of comb foundation has become general ; in fact, 

 few, if any, keeping bees in the movable-frame hive, attempt 

 to do without it. At present, comb honey, owing to the 

 quality of the comb foundation, is not generally of a kind 

 satisfactory to the consumer. Although it is desirable to get 

 a foundation which, when utilized and added to by the bees, 

 gives a comb as thin as the natural one, many claim that comb 

 a trifle heavier is not noticed by consumers. When, however, 

 the base and bottoms of side walls are materially thickened, 

 and the comb has an artificial appearance, and the wax does 



Fio. 3.— Giving a side view ot comb foundation, flat-bottomed, 13 sq. ft. 

 to the pound. This shows a continuous piece ot foundation. One 

 half of the foundation was covered over, the other half exposed 

 and worked out by the bees. 



comb was put on ice to harden it for the purpose of more ac- 

 curate measurement ; and three measurements were taken in 

 this case. 



Again, to see just how the bees utilized the comb founda- 

 tion, three tanks of melted wax were prepared. Oije was col- 

 ored with a preparation of alkanet, another with a prepara- 

 tion ot carbon, and the third was pure beeswax, uncolored. 

 The various stages in the manufacture of comb foundation 

 were carried out, giving comb foundation from each tank 10, 

 12, and 15 feet square to the pound. 



These were placed side by side, and drawn out in the upper 

 stories by the bees. It was manifested in various ways that the 

 bees objected to the alkanet, so this kind was discarded. To 

 the foundation, colored black with the preparation of carbon, 

 the bees did not object. The object in placing foundation 

 made of ordinary wax alongside of the colored, was to make 

 measurements of each kind when drawn out by the bees The 

 measurements of the colored and uncolored being identical, 

 gave us a basis for the statement that the bees did not object 

 to this preparation; and the method of drawing this out was 



O^ 



yi-Y-v*^.^MY>s-^ 



Fig. 2.— Giving a side view ot comb foundation, 12 sq. ft. to the pound, 

 and above the same after the comb has been completed and capped 

 by the bees. The honey has beeu extracted and washed away from 

 the comb, which, after a thorough drying, has been filled with 

 plaster of Paris, and a section cut down. 



not crumble when the comb is broken, the result is that the 

 consumer objects, and the objection is intensified by the com- 

 paratively harmless nature of the change. Again, comb foun- 

 dation and wax was wasted in the extra thickness ; and this 

 is no small item, as it is generally worth 50 or 60 cents per 

 pound. 



Fig. 4.— Giving a side view of comb foundation, flat-bottomed. 4 sq. ft. 

 to the pound. This shows a continuous piece of foundation. One 

 halt of the foundation was covered over, the other half exposed 

 and worked out by the bees, 



identical with that ot ordinary foundation. The base and 

 lower part of the comb were not, as we might expect, of a 

 black color, and the fresh and added wax white. Instead, 

 there is a regular graduation from black at the base to white 

 at the top of the cell. The heavier the foundation, the darker 

 the base and adjoining side wall. 



From the above it would appear reasonable to expect that 



