1S1»7 



GLEANINGS IN BIvH CULTURp:. 



1 think, lit)\vevcr, llial, with all its faults, 

 this (Icep-ccll-wall foumiation will be a boon 

 to those who use bottom-starters, for in that 

 case only two rows of cells will be needed ; 

 and with the experiments 1 have made alonj^ 

 this line I find it keeps its place perfectly, 

 while the bees are enabled to i;:anipulate the 

 first row of cells the same as they do ordinary 

 tlat-bottom foundation. I am told that INIr. 

 Weed thinks he can yet arrange so as to make 

 this drawn foundation with the natural base ; 

 and if so I shall look forward with eagerness 

 till I am able to give such a production a care- 

 ful test during the season of 1898. 



^fe^gfifflS 



DRAWN FOrXDATION NO ADVANTAGE OVER 

 COMMON FOUNDATION. 



I have just taken off the super containing 

 drawn foundation. I will send you an average 

 specimen of drawn foundation and common 

 Weed-process foundation. The honey-flow 

 nearly stopped in about five or six days after 

 putting the super on. The super was filled 

 with newly extracted unfinished sections ex- 

 cept two of drawn foundation and two of 

 common foundation, both having the same 

 advantage by being placed near the center of 

 the super. Three days after putting on, the}' 

 were examined. At that time the drawn 

 foundation was not touched, except to fasten 

 it a little to one side. Contrary to m_v expec- 

 tation, the common foundation was drawn out 

 to nearly equal the drawn foundation. 



Now, on taking the super off^ I find the only 

 advantage the drawn foundation has over the 

 other is in being so nicely fastened at top and 

 sides. As usual in a poor hone3--flow, the 

 common foundation was not well fastened to 

 the sides, while the drawn foundation did not 

 even have a hole at the corners for a bee to 

 get through. 



However, this is no fair test. A man should 

 have a whole summer to give an intelligent 

 answer. I do not think the fear that you will 

 have a cud of wax to chew after ealing honey 

 from drawn foundation is where the trouble 

 will be. I think that to be able to make it 

 cheap enough so the common bee-keeper can 

 afford to use it will be the trouble, besides the 

 difficulty of shipping. H. vS. Wheei.KR. 



Mt. Pleasant, Mich., Sept. 8. 



[See article by G. M. Doolittle in this issue. 

 We have had so far quite a number of flatter- 

 ing reports in regard to the new drawn founda- 

 tion. Note, for example, tho.se just follow- 

 ing this ; but as there are, undoubtedly, in- 

 stances where bees do thicken the base, we, 

 The A. I. Root Co., through Mr. Weed, will 

 very likely abandon the flat base and make in 

 its stead deep-cell foundation with natural 

 bases. W^hile the walls will not be so deep 



nor perhai)s as delicate, the bases will be as 

 thin as or thinner than tliose of the natural. 



We have completed a set of dies on a very 

 small scale that give us strong ho])e that the 

 new product will secure to us all the advan- 

 tages that we hop.-d to obtain from the use of 

 drawn foundation with flat bases. 



Strange as it may seem, the dies for making 

 the natural bases are very much more ea.sy to 

 make ; and the onlv wonder is that we didn't 

 " tumble " to the fact sooner. We shall hope 

 to have a set of dies now on a sufliciently large 

 scale b}- next year so that we can give all our 

 friends all the drawn or deep-cell foundation 

 they want, with natural bases. If flat-base 

 drawn foundation has in a majority of in- 

 stances given good results, we may confident- 

 ly expect that the same article with natural 

 bases will invariably do so. Even if the flat 

 bases always gave satisfactory results, we 

 should now prefer to use the natural, because 

 it will cost less. — Ed.] 



DEEP CELI. A GREAT SUCCESS. 



I have tested your drawn foundation in my 

 apiary, and the result was so satisfactory that 

 I will use it next year instead of foundation if 

 you can furnish it at a reasonable price. 

 Please advise me at what price you can fur- 

 nish me 25 or 30 lbs. Of course, I shall not 

 need it before next April, as our honey sea- 

 son will not commence before then. 



W. O. Hebisen. 



Emory, Texas, Oct. 6, 1897. 



FIRST PRIZE FOR DEEP-CEEIv FOUNDATION. 



You will be pleased to read that the deep- 

 cell foundation took first prize for the best 

 and most practical new invention for the bee- 

 keeper. You know Toronto still holds the 

 palm for having the best and largest exhibit 

 of apiarian products on the continent. The 

 award will, I believe, prove to be a judicious 

 one. R. F. Holtermann. 



Toronto, Sept. ;>. 



[As we have found instances where the deep- 

 cell foundation has too thick a midrib, we 

 propose to make it with natural bases. I 

 don't suppose honey from the latter will look 

 any better than that with flat bases, which 

 took the prize. — Ed.] 



DRAWN AND COMMON FOUNDATION FINISH- 

 ED ABOUT THE SAME TIME. 



We ship to you to-da}- a crate of honev. 

 The 4 cases on top are the honey out of the 

 supers you sent. You sent the supers too late 

 for the willow-herl), so they are filled with 

 goldenrod and wild daisy and boneset. The 

 fouiidation in the full-drawn had nearly all 

 fallen down, so it did not have a fair chance. 

 If you had sent the foundation and let me set 

 it, it would have had a better show. The bees 

 went into the full-drawn first, but finished 

 both about the same time. It was not a fair 

 test. I should like to give it another trial 

 next summer if you wish me to do so. 



L. E. Powers. 



Thompson ville, Mich., Sept. 20. 



