ural comb for brood purposes measures 

 5 ; also, some of this built out in cool 

 weather, when rilled with honey and 

 sealed over, sagged so as to tear the cells 

 apart and set the honey to running, with 

 the mercury at 95° in the shade, while 

 not a natural comb stirred a particle. 

 In the second place, it requires twice 

 the fussing and looking after, to get it 

 built out into half-way decent combs, 

 that it takes to get natural comb built ; 

 and thirdly, it costs more than natural 

 comb, where you have to pay more than 

 50 cents per lb. 



But, says another, Mr. Nellis told you 

 at the North-Eastern Bee-Keepers' Con- 

 vention, last February, that he was 

 headquarters for foundation, and that 

 which he made did not sag so as to injure 

 it in the least. Admitted ; but if such 

 was the case, why is Mr. Nellis now 

 crying " Eureka !" in regard to founda- 

 tion with wire incorporated in it V If 

 it did not sag before, why does he put 

 wire in it now to keep it from sagging, 

 thereby enhancing the price nearly one- 

 half V And then, friend Betsingsr tells 

 us in the November number of the 

 American Bee Journal that the bees 

 don't rear brood over those wires. I 

 tell you, comb foundation is not yet 

 proven a perfect success, nor will it 

 until it can be used without looking 

 after in any spot or place, and in any 

 weather, wherein a natural comb can, 

 and that at a cost not to exceed 50c. per 

 lb. Don't understand me as discour- 

 aging experiments with it, for I do not. 

 but shall keep experimenting, for I am 

 as anxious to make it a success as any 

 person in the land. Mr. Langstroth 

 wrote me in a private letter that he 

 thought he could devise a way to make 

 its use a success, so I willingly make 

 my bow, and leave the field for a more 

 able pen than mine. 



Borodino, N. Y., Dec. 5th, 1878. 



P. S.— I have said nothing of its use 

 for comb honey, as I have discarded it 

 from the boxes altogether, for the rea- 

 son that when honey is plenty and the 

 bees are secreting wax, they simply add 

 their wax to the foundation, never 

 touching it to draw it out a particle. 

 By scraping the wax off we have the 

 foundation just as it was given to them, 

 and nobody likes to eat such stuff. My 

 advice would be, discard it from the 

 boxes altogether. o. m. d. 



[Mr. Doolittle's point is well taken ; 

 in the fourth edition, which will soon 

 be issued, the error will be corrected— 

 it having already been detected and 

 marked for correction before this article 

 was received. Prof. Cook was greatly 



over-worked during the proof-reading, 

 and hence the error in substituting the 

 word " frames" for " combs" was over- 

 looked by him. Mr. D.'s criticism and 

 kind words are duly appreciated by both 

 author and publishers.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Make Comb Foundation. 



BY JOHN BOTJRGMEYER. 



After having tried different ways, I 

 found the following the cheapest and 

 best : My dipping boiler is made of good 

 tin, 14 inches long, 20 inches deep and 

 4 inches wide, with attachment at the 

 upper end, about 2 inches wide, for the 

 purpose of holding more wax. The 

 dipping boards are pine, f inch thick, 

 12 inches wide and 14 inches long ; for 

 Langstroth, 9 inches wide and 20 inches- 

 long, botli sides planed smoothly. Of 

 these I have three of every size. I melt 



My new Machine. 



the wax, pour it through double mos- 

 quito bar into the dipping pan, which is 

 nearly filled with hot water. I always- 

 keep a pan with melting wax on the 

 stove. 



The room is kept at a temperature of 

 80 deg. 85 min. Fahr. In cold weather I 

 put the dipping pan in a wash-boiler 

 tilled with hot water, though this is not 

 necessary in summer. The dipping 

 boards niust be kept in cold water ; for 

 that purpose I use a wash-tub. After 

 being thus prepared, I take a board and 

 dip it into the wax just as deep as I de- 

 sire to make my sheets, take out and let 

 cool a moment^ then dip in again, take 

 out and let the wax run off, dip in cold 

 water, after which I give it to a second 

 person, who, with a knife, takes off the 

 sheets. It is of no use to make the 

 sheets much thicker than required. 

 Care must be taken not to get the wax 

 and water too warm, or the wax will 

 run off the board. 



A third person is also useful to take 

 care of the wax melting and keeping the 



