THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



211 



For the Ainericiin Bee Journal. 



Comb Foundation. 



Last winter I received samples of white 

 and yellow comb foundations from John 

 Long, said to be pure wax. Upon testing 

 them by various ways I found out a small 

 part to oe wax, and in consequence did not 

 order any more to experiment with. Last 

 spring I received a sample pound of, yellow 

 comb foundation of C. O. Perrine, which 

 appears to be pure beeswax. Have used it 

 all in the hives this season, and the bees ac- 

 cept it all right, both in brood chamben,and 

 in surplus boxes. In the latter, the comb 

 when finished with new wax and capped, 

 looked as nice as any other, but when cut 

 into disclosed a yellow streaK in the middle 

 and a very tough septum. It was not 

 trimmed down as thin as the natural comb. 

 This may partly be owing to the thickness 

 of the yellow foundation. A sample of 

 Perrine's foundation was put into a surplus 

 frame along side of a sample of Long's. The 

 bees worked on Perrine's and built new 

 comb until they were scant of room, and 

 then took hold of Long's sample and finish- 

 ed the cells on it. So it seems that they will 

 work on paraffine though they do not prefer 

 it. When large pieces of the foundation are 

 put into frames tney are warped by the heat 

 of the hive, and the comb thereby made 

 more or less crooked or waving. There 

 seems to be no remedy for this, and I found 

 my fancy to have a complete comb built on 

 foundation "as straight as a board," would 

 have to remain ungiatified. 



[Try filling a frame within a quarter of an 

 inch of the two sides and bottom. — Ed.] 



I made a pair of plaster dies, 5x6 inches, 

 in order to experiment with pure wax foun- 

 dation; succeeded in pressing about twenty 

 sheets before the dies broke. They were all 

 used in surplus receptacles with the follow- 

 ing results. Very thin sheets of light yel- 

 low wax, melted up from caps and white 

 scraps from honey Doards etc., when built 

 upon and sealed over looked as white and 

 nice as the natural comb; when cut into 

 disclosed a shade of yellow in centre of 

 comb, and a thickness of the septum, so lit- 

 tle different from the natural comb that no 

 one but an expert would notice the differ- 

 ence. The thicker the sheet of wax pressed 

 into foundation, the thicker the septum re- 

 mained after the comb was finished. If the 

 wax is ordinarily dark, the appearance of 

 the comb when cut is much like that of 

 comb, that one brood of bees had been 

 hatched in, and would no doubt prove unat- 

 tractive to consumers. Small sheets can be 

 rapidly pressed with a simple lever, and 

 dies, say 8 or 10 inches square, can be cheap- 

 ly furnished no doubt by the electrotypers. 



Now, if the patentees would sell indivi- 

 dual rights to make and use comb founda- 

 tion, at a reasonable price, it would probab- 

 ly come into very general use; but I confess 

 the present price of the article deters me 

 from making any large investment in it. 



The simplest test for adulteration of bees- 

 wax is to put a small piece on a hot stove. 

 Pure wax foams over nearly the whole sur- 

 face of the melted wax. If mixed with par- 

 affine or other substance only a part of the 

 spot will be covered with foam. By a little 

 practice anyone can thus readily determine 

 very nearly the amount of adulteration. 



Maysville, Ky, Wm. C. Pelham. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Ripen your Honey. 



While this question is being discussed in 

 the Bee Journal I wish to say a word, 

 and to commence I will refer the readers to 

 friend Muth's article on page 187, June num- 

 ber, present Volume. Ilis experience and 

 mine is the same in extracting and ripen- 

 ing. Let us put good pure honey on the 

 market. Let it stand in barrels and tubs 

 with open ends for some days after extract- 

 ing, and the thin watery stuff and all im- 

 purities will rise to the top. Persons that 

 nave not had experience of the kind will be 

 surprised at the amount of impurities they 

 can skim off. We stand ours in the cellar 

 and skim it three or four times at intermis- 

 sion, and then barrel up tight. This thing 

 of running into the barrel direct from the 

 extractor we never did, and after straining 

 it into open ended barrels, etc., and then let- 

 ting it stand and skimming it, we were con- 

 vinced it was not the plan to barrel it with- 

 out going through some days of a process of 

 ripening, etc. 



I have managed to make a home market 

 for all the surplus honey I have to spare, so 

 far, by going off into oui- neighboring towns 

 and villages, a short distance away from 

 home, and have sold at satisfying rates, 

 rather than to ship east to the large honey 

 houses. If our bee-keepers would be crafty 

 trading fellows, they could generally sell 

 much honey near home. E. Liston. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



"In Medio Tutissimus Ibis." 



I have selected the above motto as applic- 

 able, in my view, to most of the more im- 

 portant discussions of the day. 



The honey extractor is lauded to the skies 

 by some and by others condemned as a 

 nuisance. Now the honey extractor, as I 

 consider it, is one of the greatest inventions , 

 probably next to the movable frame— the 

 greatest of the age. And yet it is liable to 

 abuse and should be used with discretion, 

 always keeping in view the object at which 

 you are aiming and never sacrificing the 

 strength of a colony for present gain. 



Spreading the frames of brood and intro- 

 ducing empty comb is another item upon 

 which people widely differ. Some condemn 

 it in toto, others carry it too far. While 

 one or two empty worker combs, never ex- 

 tending the brood beyond the ability ot the 

 workers to cover and take care of, is a stim- 

 ulus to the queen and a valuable aid to 

 timely increase, going beyond that is at- 

 tended with mischief, enfeebling the colony 

 and discouraging the queen; and this with 

 too free use of the extractor is doubtless 

 the great cause of the frequent desertions 

 of gueens so often complained of. The 

 Italian queen, especially the half breed, is a 

 spirited thing and you take away her re- 

 sources, or cripple her energies by over- 

 taxing her efforts and she rebels, often leav- 

 ing honey, brood and even workers, though 

 sometimes she takes the latter with her and 

 seeks new quarters. Under such circum- 

 stances a little timely aid by giving a frame 

 of brood in all stages is a good remedy, and 

 a valuable precaution to take with all 

 swarms both natural and artificial, especial- 

 ly when the queen is probably unfertilized. 



A. W. 



