AMERICAN BEE JOURNAJL. 



151 



J. A. Pearce said that his neighbors 

 sprayed their trees wliile they were in 

 full bloom, as directed by the pump 

 manufacturers, and his apiary was 

 nearly ruined. It killed both the old 

 bees and brood. 



J. H. Larrabee suggested that the 

 poisoned bees be sent to the college, and 

 they would analyze them, Shd if poison 

 was found in them, it would be a help to 

 the committee on legislation appointed 

 at Albany in getting a law passed to 

 prevent the spraying of trees while in 

 full bloom, inasmuch as it did no good to 

 spray until after the fruit had set. 



The Use and Abuse of Foundation. 



The intelligent use of comb-founda- 

 tion has added largely to the pleasure 

 and profit of bee-keeping, and its im- 

 portance is second only to the movable- 

 frame. The first practical foundation 

 was made in 1874, and the demand has 

 increased so rapidly that at times since 

 it has taxed the world for sufficient 

 beeswax for its production. 



In 1878 Prof. Cook said: " We can 

 hardly conceive what an immense busi- 

 ness this is soon to become." 



During the first years of its introduc- 

 tion, the lack of experience and proper 

 machinery caused a large proportion of 

 poor comb-foundation to be sent' out ; 

 still it did not seem to affect the demand. 



With the fine machines, and the really 

 scientific manipulation of the wax, by 

 the best manufacturers now, there seems 

 little left to improve on. Several at- 

 tempts have been made to make comb 

 with full depth of cells, but so far they 

 have all been failures, as, no doubt, they 

 always will be. The great bulk it would 

 make, the extra expense, and the greater 

 amount of wax necessary to its construc- 

 tion, all combine to make it undesirable. 



Being a manufacturer of comb-foun- 

 dation, I have been much interested in 

 anything pertaining to it, which has led 

 me to experiment considerable, testing, 

 each season, theories of my own, and 

 the suggestions of others. The results 

 have convinced me that locality, season, 

 and manner of using has so much in- 

 fluence that no two experimenting alike 

 will arrive at the same conclusions. 



In my use of foundation in the brood- 

 frames I have been most pleased with 

 full sheets of light brood in wired 

 frames. There is only wax enough, in 

 this grade, to draw out the cells a trifle, 

 giving the bees a chance to utilize the 

 natural secretions of wax that is some- 

 times lost. Nice, straight, all-worker 



combs are secured in this way at little 

 expense. Full sheets give more bees a 

 chance to operate, making them less 

 liable to cluster and secrete wax that 

 may be wasted. 



By the use of starters only in brood- 

 frames, perhaps the bees will enter the 

 sections sooner, storing a greater pro- 

 portion of their honey there ; but that is 

 not always an advantage. The bees 

 must have a certain amount to winter 

 on, and if forced to put their stores 

 above, and the flow ceases about the 

 time the sections are completed, it neces- 

 sitates feeding for their Winter supply. 

 With the average bee-keeper, this is 

 neglected sometimes altogether, or until 

 it is too late. 



If the queens are not young (and with 

 the first swarms they are not), there will 

 often be drone-comb enough in one hive 

 for the whole apiary. 



At first the use of foundation in the 

 sections was looked upon with consid- 

 erable alarm, but it has grown steadily 

 into favor, until it is now used by nearly 

 all bee-keepers. 



Filling the sections full, gives the best 

 results, as It insures better fastening, 

 increases the yield, and adds to the 

 appearance. 



Where small pieces of foundation only 

 are used, the work starts but slowly, as 

 a large proportion of the bees have to 

 wait for the increase of surface to 

 operate on. One day is quite a loss 

 during the best of the yield, as the flow 

 we secure our crop from is short at best. 

 The principal abuse of foundation is 

 the careless manner it is often put into 

 the brood-frames and sections, the 

 sheets falling down, making them worse 

 than useless. 



In fastening it in the brood-frames, 

 the sheets are cut to exactly fit the 

 frames, and then the wires are pressed 

 in ; then run melted beeswax and resin 

 around three sides. Put in this way, 

 they will do to hive full swarms, or will 

 stand for shipment. To put the melted 

 beeswax and resin on, use a spoon, bent 

 up so as to form a spout on the end ; 

 then hold up the frame, and pour so the 

 stream will run around where the comb 

 and frame should join, pouring only 

 sufficient to keep it running, until 

 finished. Never use any resin in putting 

 foundation in sections, as it is almost 

 sure to impart its flavor to the honey. 



I have tried a good many devices for 

 fastening the comb in the sections, but 

 a common Parker fastener is better 

 than anything I have yet found. 



M. H. Hunt. 



