248 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apk. 1. 



A FEW MOKE FACTS ABOUT THE FLAT-BOTTOM 

 DRAWN FOUNDATION. 



A GOOD deal of theorizing and useless specula- 

 tion is now being indulged in with regard to 

 the new drawn foundation, or what we have 

 been calling deep-cell-wall foundation— specu- 

 lation as to what it will be and will do— not 

 what it is or has done. Theory amounts to 

 nothing when set over against fact; and for the 

 purpose of enforcing some of our former state- 

 ments, and disproving some of the various opin- 

 ions recently set forth, we have called into re- 

 quisition the camera. There is nothing more 

 truthful than a photographic negative; and, 

 thanks to the new process of half tone engrav- 

 ing, a photo can be reproduced in ail its faith- 

 fulness for the benefit of the general public. 



Mr. Weed has taken various samples of comb 

 foundation, of natural comb, of comb drawn 

 from ordinary foundation, and of his new 

 drawn foundation, and placed them in plaster 

 casts. It is impossible to get a cross-section of 

 a piece of comb or foundation without causing 

 a burr edge; but by placing them in plaster, and 

 then taking a cross-section of the whole, a clean- 

 cut sectional view is secured. The accompany- 

 ing engraving shows several chunks of plaster 

 through which a cross-section has been made. 

 These chunks are held together by means of 

 black dental wax to secure better contrasts in 

 the photo. 



No. 1 shows a piece of comb drawn from light 

 brood foundation. No. 2 shows the foundation 

 itself before the bees have touched it. No. 4 is 

 a view of extra-thin foundation also untouch- 

 ed; 3 is natural c7ro?ie comb built by the bees 

 without the aid of foundation. No. 5 shows 

 the new drawn foundation; No. (5 the cast comb, 

 made by Otto Schulz, of Germany. 



We have made the statement that bees will 

 thin down the ivalls of foundation to a natural 

 thickness, but seldom if ever touch the base. 

 That statement is abundantly proven by a 

 comparison of Figs. 1 and 2. It should be said, 

 however, that the sectional view of foundation 

 at 2 is not taken at the same sectional line as at 

 1. A little more slicing oiT would have shown 

 the base the same thickness at No. 1. Now, 

 then, if the base at 1 in the original foundation 

 had been thin, and plenty of wax in the walls, 

 we should have had a comb without a midrib. 

 It is apparent, then, that in light brood founda- 

 tion a very perceptible midrib is left; and even 

 in extra thin, as at 4, there will be some midrib. 



Nos. 1 and 2 are only duplicates of dozens of 

 other samples we have taken. If, then, 1 and 2 

 are fair samples, as indeed they are, it goes to 

 show that what we at present need is thinner 

 bases and more wall. The results of R. L. 

 Taylor's experiments along these lines, as re- 

 ported in the Bee keepers' Review, are quite in 

 harmony with what I have just said, and with 

 the photographic view, and Mr. Hutchinson 

 appears to have overlooked or forgotten this, 



for he seems to favor a foundation all base and 

 no wall. If it is all base, and the base could be 

 made as thin as natural, it would sag in draw- 

 ing out; and, besides, I think the bees would be 

 very much inclined to gnaw it down. 



Very recently Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Bingham, 

 and a few others, have been asking for a foun- 

 dation without wall. Accordingly, in a round- 

 about way we received an order for a mill that 

 would make the mere midrib but not the ivalls. 

 Wc had but little faith that such an article 

 would be of any use; but we made the mill, and 

 secured some beautiful results. This mill was 

 shipped to our customer. Later on It was 

 a little amusing to have samples of this same 

 mill sent back to us as tuo triumph of a new 

 achievement. 



If one will look over the photo very carefully 

 he will see that it is not the absence of walls, 

 but the jjresence of them, that is needed. In a 

 word, thin bases, with plenty of wall, is the de- 

 sideratum. Mr. Weed realized this fact years 

 ago, and now because, forsooth, he proposes to 

 put the surplus of wax in a deeper wall (instead 

 of a thicker one) and make thinner bases, Mr. 

 Leahy hints that we are in league with the 

 adulterators — that we are about to ruin the 

 comb-honey business*. None are so blind as 

 those who won't see. 



No. 5 is a sample of the new drawn founda- 

 tion, the walls of which are considerably deep- 

 er than would be practicable or desirable for us 

 to make. It will be observed that the base ap- 

 pears to be as thin as natural ; but it is in fact a 

 little thicker. The sample in question was 

 made on a smaller machine, with which it was 

 not possible to secure as perfect results as with 

 the larger one which is now nearly completed. 

 Let it be understood that .5 has not been touch- 

 ed by the bees in any manner whatever. It is 

 just as it left the dies. The product from the 

 new machine will have cell walls probably 

 about tV inch deep; or, in other words, it will 

 be deep-cell flat-bottom foundation. We might 

 make deeper walls, but there is no advantage 

 in it, and the probabilities are that the new 

 foundation with walls }4 inch deep will be deep 

 enough. It will readily be seen that there is 

 not the least danger that this article— a flat- 

 bottom foundation— will be put into tumblers 

 of glucose and be used to defraud the gullible 

 public. 



While we may be condemned by a few, for 

 the present, we have perfect confidence that the 

 future will fully vindicate us. While we do 

 not even now claim that we shall be able to 

 make the article a commercial possibility, we 

 do assert that, if we ever shall do so, there 

 will be no fraud about it. There is only one 

 way the product can be made, and that will be 

 covered by patents that will prevent dishonest 

 persons, even if they could, from making a fraud- 

 ulent use of it. 



