1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



575 



time could be taken to offer results of experi- 

 ments and some opinions on the matter. 



Ever since the general introduction of foun- 

 dation I have had more or less to do with it. 

 At first there was a decided opposition to its 

 use, both on the ground of the suspicion it 

 would create, even though used in brood- 

 chambers only, and becaRise of the " fishbone," 

 or tough bases, where used in section honey. 

 I entertained grave doubts about the advisa- 

 bility 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, preferring to stick 

 to the old method of using 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 season, tried the new product 

 known as " drawn foundation," using ten 

 pieces in which the cells were about % inch 

 deep. I am now going to give as fair and 

 candid an opinion as possible upon this sub- 

 ject. I would say, right here, that the chapter 

 on "Use and Abuse of Foundation," in Mr. 

 Hutchinson's book, "Advanced Bee Culture," 

 is about as near the truth as any thing I have 

 ever seen written on the subject. 



Many years ago I made an observation hive 

 which would take one to three L. frames. 

 The first real study of foundation I ever made 

 was when I put a sheet of it into that hive and 

 watched it develop 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 suspect that its convenience as 

 a starter material will go further toward main- 

 taining its free use in the years to come than 

 will its value as a money saver or maker. I 

 feel constrained to 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 majority of cases 

 where foundation is used, it is thinned more 

 or less by the bees. The amount of thinning 

 depends very much upon conditions. The 

 temperature, needs of comb at the time, 

 whether urgent 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 wax is secreted more or 

 less freely at all times during a honej'-flow, 

 the quantity 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 

 cases, 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-evident that the very quality 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 increased tough- 

 ness and amount of wax, the taste in no way 

 being impaired. 



If it is true that w'ax is usually secreted in 

 sufficient quantities to hold the honey gather- 

 ed — a belief I hold to — the use of full sheets 

 in sections can not pay, viewed from the point 

 of the saving of honey-consumption in wax- 

 secretion. Neither can great stress be laid 

 upon the thought of retaining bees to build 

 comb that otherwise would field, unless we 

 give up the generally accepted teaching that 

 those under field age are the wax-workers. It 

 seems that the economy of nature is such that 

 provision has been made for all these things. 

 The influences that bring on the honey-yield- 

 ing plants also bring on the colony of bees; so 

 that, when the flow arrives, there are in the 

 colonies those suited to the various duties to 

 be performed; and I sometimes wonder if we 

 do not cease to be economical in too far de- 

 parting from the natural. 



As hereinbefore intimated, foundation is a 

 very handy article; and if starters can be pro- 

 duced and used in this way cheaper than by 

 natural comb, that will cause it to be used. 

 Bees can start their own comb as well as we; 

 but to induce the building in the place and 

 manner that serves our purpose to the best 

 advantage is another matter. A starter — a 

 very narrow strip of foundation, or bit of 

 natural comb — serves the purpose of guiding 

 the bee; and if the use of such gives as per- 

 fect a comb as do full sheets of foundation, 

 we come right back to the question of wax- 

 secretion. 



It is claimed that the full sheet brings a 

 better finish; but if so, it is only a minor point 

 among many. I shall send to the Root Co. 

 sections built out from brood foundation, from 

 extra thin, from half-sheets, from very narrow 

 starters, "drawn foundation," and natural 

 comb, all in one super, and I doubt if expert 

 judges can tell which is which by the finish. 

 I have believed for years, and practiced ac- 

 cordingly, that the strongest point in favor of 

 h\\\ sheets in sections was the extent to which 

 they act as bait-combs. They do have some 

 inducement in this way. We know that a 

 colony can build a lot of comb in a very little 

 time when it is needed; but to determine just 

 whether foundation is a help in any great 

 degree is a problem very difficult to determine. 

 There has been a great amount of haphazard 

 guessing done; but thorough practical tests 

 are as " scarce as hens' teeth." 



To take into consideration all fields and 

 conditions, I do not think a wholesale use of 

 foundation in sections is profitable. Starters 

 or guides we must have from some source; 

 and a bit at the top, and a like one at the 

 bottom, serve the purpose. Some place much 

 stress on the use of full sheets to avoid the 

 building of drone comb, because worker is 

 thought to be prettier. Years ago I admired 

 a finished section of drone comb above that of 

 worker-cells, and 'tis a fact that I did not know 

 the worker comb was more beautiful until 

 somebody told me so — don't even yet know it. 



