GIJvAMNOS IN BKH Cl'LTrRK. 



029 



ami cheap method of niakiii.^ oiir's own brood 

 fouiulation would result in a far nioro general 

 use of foundation, with the attendant benefits, 

 tlian is indicated even by the amount of tnon- 

 ey savetl. That would be in accordance with 

 human nature, at any rate. To pay out cash 

 is nuich less likely to happen tlian to utilize 

 what one has. 



It strikes me that that " mussinji;-up of 

 things generally " on page 44() is about as 

 strong an expression as could be found to 

 descrU>e the molding process. True, I can't 

 speak of it at first hand; but reading ought to 

 give one a faint inkling of how matters are ; 

 and my reading so far has failed to show how 

 there is any more nms.sing-up than in the 

 inevitable task of melting up the wax product 

 of the apiary ; in fact, I should have inferred 

 from my reading that it was, rather, a clean 

 operation. 



I note that you do not say that the majority 

 of bee-keepers who have roller machines have 

 long since come to the conclusion that it does 

 not pay to make brood foundation for their 

 own use. Perhaps they can't make it pay to 

 make their own surplus foundation — a differ- 

 ent matter. And even if they did make the 

 statement of brqod foundation, I should take 

 the liberty to disagree with their assumption 

 that their own circumstances are a rule for 

 others. A man who can afford to lay out |30 

 for a roller mill for his own use alone, with as 

 little inducement as has hitherto been held 

 out to do so, must for that very reason have 

 some store of this world's goods. His inter- 

 ests are likely to be varied, and must be con- 

 siderable ; therefore his time must be worth, 

 financially, a good deal more than mine. 

 Most probably he hires help; and why should 

 he not buy foundation? It amounts to the 

 same thing as buying an expensive mill, and 

 hiriu<^ a man to put his time in on the fuss 

 and muss which it requires. But the poor 

 man ma}- have to lay out as nmch, or more, 

 for foundation in any one year as a molding- 

 press ought to cost iiim, while at the same 

 time he gets no more for his time than a day 

 laborer, counting the whole year. Why should 

 he not get a cheap press, which, if we are to 

 believe any thing at all that is said of it, 

 requires very much less fussy and mussy work 

 than the mill ? It is fallacious to refer to the 

 experience of the majority of bee-keepers in 

 this matter, for they have had expi^rience with 

 the mill only. So far from being less able to 

 compete with the roller machines with the 

 factories, there are the best of reasons for 

 thinking it is better able to compete. A table- 

 knife successfull)- competes with a razor in a 

 good many ways. Let us not imply that it is 

 absolutely essential to impart a factory gloss 

 to a home-made article for home consumption. 

 Dr. Miller doesn't want the bother and wor- 

 ry of making his own foundation. I .shouldn't 

 either, if I had as many irons in the fire as he 

 has. It is a wonder he wants the bother and 

 worry of doing any thing with wax, or of 

 keeping bees at all. Mr. Editor, I respect- 

 fully request that you put out of tlie room all 

 those bee-keepers who are presidents and 

 secretaries and factotums of this, that, and 



the other organization, rose-fanciers, etc., and 

 all those who have sixteen as.sistants to boss — 

 unless they promise to be good, and imagine 

 them.selves in the place of the representative 

 bee-keej^er who depends on his own jjair of 

 hands alone to secure him a year's support 

 for a year's work, and who fondly hopes that 

 his rainy-day ])ile, repeatedly scattered and 

 tramped on, may .some duN' begin to grow 

 again. 



INIontrose, Col. 



[You admit you have never tried the Rietsche 

 press; and that being the ca.se you have to get 

 your facts and figures second-hand. Grant- 

 ing, for instance, that we arc prejudiced in 

 favor of factory-made foundation, it is reason- 

 able to assume that the inventor or manufac- 

 turer of the Rietsche press is equally prejudic- 

 ed in favor of his machine; but, so far as pos- 

 sible, let us eliminate prejudice, if there be 

 any, and let cold figures speak for themselves. 



In the first place, your figures — at least some 

 of them — are incorrectly drawn. You are 

 assuming that the sample of foundation you 

 sent to us runs about 1% sheets to the L. 

 frame. I carefully weighed it on delicate 

 scales, and found it ran about 6 L. sheets to 

 the pound. To prove the result, I went down 

 into our wax-working department and picked 

 out (3 sheets of medium brood foundation 

 which ought to weigh () L. sheets to the pound. 

 These, when placed on the scales, responded 

 to the proper notch. Out of one of these 

 sheets, all run at the same time, probably 

 within a minute of each other, I cut a square 

 of foundation equal in .size to the little .sample 

 you sent. I then took a pair of delicate 

 watchmaker's balances, and, having found 

 that they "balanced," I placed a piece of 

 Rietsche foundation on one .side and a piece 

 of our medium brood on the other side, both 

 of exactly the same size. They balanced 

 exactly. 



Again, I notice that }'ou figure wax at 2o cts. 

 a pound. This figure does not include the 

 cost of refining and a slight loss from dirt. 

 After being cleaned it is worth 5 cents more. 

 This would make the wax run 30 cents a 

 pound in place of 25 ; for the 2o-cent article 

 mil be hardly fit — at least the average run of 

 it — to make decent foundation. 



Then you have made another error in put- 

 ting the price of factory-made foundation at 

 41 when it should be 40.' Assuming that your 

 boy or man on the Riet.sche press would n'lake 

 .")0 pounds of foundation in a day (which I 

 very much doubt), you ought to take the 50- 

 pound rate for factory-made foundation. Now, 

 then, let us start over again: 



I noticed you have allowed the boy or man 

 49 sheets per hour on the Rietsche press, on 

 the ba.sis of T .sheets to the L. frame ; but if 

 you figure that the Rietsche sheets are only 

 () to the pound, as per sample, then we will 

 give you credit for 8 lbs. per hour, wliich at 

 oO cents would make a total of $2.40. Sup- 

 pose the poor man's time is worth 15 cts. an 

 hour, this would make a total of f2.55, not 

 allowing any thing for express charges on 

 machine from Germany, cost of the machine 

 itself, the mussing-up of pots, kettles, and 



