THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



315 



iheyiisf eggs placed in the center, always, 

 and his question would have been point- 

 less. The editor in a foot note adds two 

 or three questions the pertinency of 

 which, in any view. I am unable to dis- 

 cover. 



Lapekr, Mich. Sept., 20, 1898. 



FOUNDATION NOT ALWAYS PROFITABLE. 



Its Use a Convenience rather than a Profit; 

 Deep-Cell-Foundation Experience. 



The use of comb foundation is one of 

 the live, practical topics connected with 

 bee-keeping; and R. C. Aikin of Colorado 

 is a live practical bee-keeper, and when 

 he writes as clearly and sensibly upon 

 the subject of comb foundation as he 

 has recently in Gleanings, I shall esteem 

 it a privilege to copy his writings into 

 the Review. Here is the article to which 

 I refer: — 



The question of the use of founilation 

 is one that is vitally connected with that 

 of wax secretion. In the second and 

 third Musings preceeding this one, wax 

 secretion was touched upon to some ex- 

 tent. Just now, since the new product, 

 deep-cell or "drawn foundation," is on 

 trial, nmch interest is manifested in the 

 foundation question, and possibly no bet- 

 ter time could be taken to offer results of 

 experiments and some opinions on the 

 matter. 



Ever since the general introduction of 

 foundation I have had more or less to do 

 with it. At first there was a decided op- 

 position to its use, both on the ground of 

 the suspicion it would create, even though 

 used in brood chambers only, and be- 

 cause of the "fishbones," or tough bases, 

 where used in section honey. I enter- 

 tained grave doubts about the advisabil- 

 ity of using it in sections, and it was a 

 good many years before I could make up 

 my mind that I wanted to so use it, pre- 

 ferring to stick to the old method of us- 

 ing natural-comb starters. 



During the past eight years I have 

 used many hundred pounds, principally 

 of the Dadant make, and have made 

 nearly a ton myself. I have used it in 



very narrow starters and in full sheets; 

 have had many brood-combs built on it. 

 I have used the Van Deusen flat-bottomed 

 to some extent, and have, the past sea- 

 son, tried the new product known as 

 "drawn foundation," using ten pieces in 

 which the cells were about }4 inch deep. 

 I am now going to give as fair and can- 

 did an opinion as possible upon this sub- 

 ject. I would say, right here, that the 

 chapter on "Use and Abuse of Founda- 

 tion," in Mr. Hutchinson' book, "Ad- 

 vanced Bee Culture," is about as near 

 the truth as anything I have ever seen 

 written on the subject. 



Many years ago I made an observation 

 hive which would take from one to three 

 L. frames. The first real study of founda- 

 tion I ever made was when I put a sheet 

 of it into that hive and watched it devel- 

 op into comb. Foundation accomplishes 

 two things in a very satisfactory manner 

 when carefully used; viz., all worker and 

 straight combs. It is a very convenient 

 article for use in sections, .so handy to 

 put in for starters. I su.spect that its 

 convenience as a starter material will go 

 further toward maintaining its free use in 

 the years to come than will its value as 

 a money saver or maker. I feel con- 

 strained tc take a middle ground on this 

 question. 



From my own experience and study of 

 the matter, together with all I have read 

 on the subject, which has been much, 

 leads me to believe that, in the great ma- 

 jority of cases where foundation is used, 

 it is thinned more or less by the bees. 

 The amount of thinning depenils very 

 much upon conditions. Tlie temperature, 

 needs of comb at the time, whether ur- 

 gent or not, the amount of wax being 

 secreted, and perhaps other minor points, 

 all have to do with the matter. I hold to 

 the opinion that v.ax is secreted more or 

 le.ss freely at all times during a honey- 

 flow, the (juantity varying as influenced 

 by the prospect of its need, the presence 

 of bees of proper age, and the state of 

 the flow of nectar. 



While there seems to be but little doubt 

 that foundation is, in the great majority 

 of ca.ses, thinned more or less, it remains, 

 I think, almost an undisputed fact that 

 comb built upon it is not by any means 

 equal to natural comb for tenderness and 

 fine edible qualities. I refer strictly to 

 the quality of the comb. It is self-evi- 

 dent that the very qualit)^ that makes it 

 less edible is an improvement on its ship- 

 ping quality. The product is less edible 

 only in the matter of a somewhat in- 

 creased toughness and amount of wax, 

 the taste in no way being impaired. 



