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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



May, 



THE BEE-KEEPING WORLD 



Stall Contributors: F. Greiner, Adrian Getaz 

 Conlribulions to this department are solicited Irom all quarters ol the earth 



FRANCE. 



Deformed Foundation. 



Mr. Dadant says that it is an error 

 to think that the bees can change the 

 worker foundation into drone combs. 

 He says that some times when mak- 

 ing foundation the operator fails to 

 put enough lubricant on the cylinders. 

 Then the wax sticks to some extent 

 to .the cylinder and is pulled upward. 

 This makes the cells longer in the 

 direction of the going through, and 

 the elasticity of the wax easily changes 

 the width also, at least to some ex- 

 tent. The result is necessarily some 

 larger cells. This may also occur 

 when the sheet of wax is too hot 

 when passed through the cylinders. 

 Furthermore the wax thus stretched 

 looses something of its strength, and 

 will stretch more when loaded with 

 the weight of the bees working at 

 it. Impurity is another cause of 

 trouble. When mixed with dirt and 

 impurities the wax has much less 

 strength than when pure and clf.an. — 

 Bulletin de la Suisse Ramande. 



The Rietsche Press. 



Many times in this department, 

 something has been said about the 

 Rietsche press, and probably many 

 readers have wondered what it is. A 

 description is given by Mr. Pincot in 

 the Apiculteur, from which the fol- 

 lowing is taken, except a few items 

 that come from some other papers. 



To begin with, the Rietsche press 

 is not a press, but what we would call 



here a mould. Something like the 

 plaster moulds sold some years ago 

 by Oliver Foster, of Indiana. Two 

 pieces of metal or cement composi- 

 tion are hinged together at -one side 

 and can be shut together like a book. 

 The corresponding faces have the im- 

 prints of a sheet of foundation. The 

 press is opened; enough melted wax 

 poured on one of the pieces and the 

 press shut immediately, so as to 

 spread and imprint the wax. After 

 a few seconds the wax has solidified, 

 and the sheet can be taken up. 



Some kind of lubricant has to be 

 used, otherwise the wax would stick to 

 the press. Many kinds are used, but a 

 mixture of water and honey is gen- 

 erally preferred. The addition of 

 some alcohol helps considerably, 

 when using metal presses. What 

 some people may consider as strange 

 is the fact that the melted wax will 

 stick to a polished surface worse 

 than to a rough one. Some apiarists 

 use merely water for lubricating the 

 cement-stone presses, others say it is 

 not sufficient, honey or something to 

 thicken it shoulc) be added. It is 

 probable that the temperature of the 

 melted wax has a bearing on the 

 matter. The hotter the wax, the thin- 

 ner will be the foundation. 



The metal presses m'ake a founda- 

 tion equal to any so far as beauty and 

 quality are concerned. The founda- 

 tion from the cement presses is 

 equally as good but not so finely 

 polished. 



Compared to the roller foundation, 

 the opinions are somewhat divided. 



