TUn BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



years. " But, " says the reader, " do not 

 the nioth-womis destroy the combs in 

 hot weather when left out of doors ? ' ' 

 No, not if zainfcred out of doors, or where 

 combs wi\l/nrze, and the hives contain- 

 ing them are piled up in such a way that 

 the moths can not get into them after the 

 combs have been frozen. 



I keep not less than two sets of surplus 

 combs for each colony I extract from. 

 When done extracting, these combs are 

 set back in the top stories and then plac- 

 ed under the brood-nest, so that the bees 

 may remove the honey that remains in 

 them, and they remain thus during the 

 autumn, or until a1)out the time to pack 

 the bees for winter, or to take them into 

 winter quarters. These bottom stories 

 full of empty combs are then piled up out 

 of doors to freeze during the winter, and 

 there they remain until wanted again for 

 surplus honey, whether the next season 

 or later on. I never find any worms in 

 or among such combs when thus treated 

 — not even when they touch each other. 

 In fact, I have often packed the top 

 stories with empty combs as close together 

 as I could get them, at the beginniug of 

 winter, and have left them in that way 

 through the following summer, and with- 

 out finding any worms among them. 

 But I prefer to remove one or two combs 

 fi-om each set and then place the others 

 in the hive about an equal distance apart. 



Of course, the reason the worms do not 

 destroy such combs, when treated as in- 

 dicated, is simply because the eggs that 

 produce them have been destro^^ed by the 

 winter freezes. This plan of perserving 

 the empty combs will not work, of course, 

 except in cold latitudes, or where the 

 freezings are sufficiently severe to de- 

 stroy the bee-moth. 



Another advantage I find in keeping 

 the empty combs out doors the year 

 round, aside from the labor of taking 

 them indoors and providing e.xtra room 

 for them — is, that they remain bright, and 

 free from mold, when in hives properly 

 con.structed, 



St. Ch.\ki.i.;s, 111. Dec. 21, 1897. 



COMB FOUNDATION. 



Some of the Advantages and Disadvantages of 

 No-Wall Foundation. 



A. ASPIXW.\LI.. 



By viewing Nature Nature's handmaid, art, 

 Malies miglity things from small beginnings 

 grow.— DfffOf/V. 



VTJHE changed 

 T^ condition of 

 wax after being 

 subjected to a 

 melting heat, 

 rendering it tough 

 and leatheiy, be- 

 comes an objec- 

 tional feature in 

 comb foundation ; 

 and only through 

 precaution in 

 maintaining the limit of heat necessary 

 in melting is the objection minimized. 

 In addition to this objection, and coupled 

 with it, is impurity. This latter, however, 

 is chiefly propolis, and can be almost en- 

 tirely eliminated in rendering by using 

 the solar extractor. 



Its being soluble in hot water at once 

 commends to us the superiority of sun 

 rendering over either water or steam; the 

 latter, however, is less objectionable, 

 although the high temperature (212° at 

 least ) , together with the attendent con- 

 densation, naturall}- tends to dissolve the 

 propolis, and contaminate the wax. . Be- 

 ing soluble in hot water, particles infi- 

 nitely small become incorporated with 

 the wax ; the presence of which may be 

 recognized by the greenish shade; which 

 also is proportionate with the amount it 

 contains. The contrast is wonderful 

 when compared with the beautiful yellow 

 product of the sun extractor, as is also 

 its texture, which is rendered hard and 

 brittle in the same ratio. 



Inasmuch as wax melts at a tempera- 

 ture varying from 150 to 160° according 

 to its purity, I would caution all against 



