1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



833 



in summer time, and when no honey at all is 

 coming in ), we shall observe that the bees will 

 at once occupy it and clean out the honey. 

 The cell- walls will be gnawed off more or less; 

 and the same wax, after it is chewed by the 

 bees, is set on the edges of the cells, and is 

 formed to a rim, which strengthens the cells 

 and gives material for a further prolongation 

 of the cells. If the same colony will get a 

 frame with a full sheet of foundation, this 

 foundation will not be touched by the bees at 

 all. Whenever we give an empty comb with- 

 out this rim on the edge of the cell, the bees 

 try at once to form such a rim ; and I am of 

 the opinion that this is the main reason why 

 drawn combs can be used as bait in the sec- 

 tions. When the bees have commenced to 

 work on a comb they will continue to do so, 

 and will fill the cells with honey when circum- 

 stances are favorable. If we use drawn combs 

 for bait it is better to remove the rim. If 

 this is so, the advantage of the new founda- 

 tion compared with the old common founda- 

 tion is that the new kind has side walls 7vith- 

 out this rim, while the old foundation has this 

 rim without the side walls. 



It is somewhat difficult to observe the way 

 in which bees build new combs or draw out 

 foundation. The bees are then so close to- 

 gether that we hardly see or distinguish the 

 motion of a single one. I once happened to 

 observe a few bees working out foundation in 

 a section when we had about 100° in the 

 shade, and I believe this to be the only condi- 

 tion in which this observation can be made. 



We can observe that the rim of a cell always 

 has a round appearance like foundation with 

 the so-called round cells. The bees start the 

 cells round, and they become six-sided by lat- 

 er manipulations. As soon as the cell needs a 

 further prolongation the bees draw out this 

 rim by taking it between their mandibles ; 

 and, pressing them together, the bee moves its 

 head away from the bottom of the cell, in this 

 way thinning the rim and stretching it out. 

 It is easy to see that, by this manipulation, 

 the cells, at first round, must necessarily be- 

 come six-sided, because six cells are around 

 one. As soon as this order is lacking, the 

 cells will acquire quite a different form. 



To smooth the now drawn-ovit side wall, 

 some saliva is brushed on the wax, using the 

 point of the tongue as a brush, and then that 

 three-cornered piece of chitin, seen between 

 the mandibles (called tongue-bone) is rubbed 

 along the side wall on both sides. New wax 

 scales are now chewed, and plastered around 

 the edge of the cell, forming the rim again. 



In the same way the bees start the midrib of 

 the comb as a straight wall ; but the}' start the 

 side wall as soon as they get the place for it, 

 and, by drawing from both sides, the wax, be- 

 ing a very soft material, is stretched till it is in 

 the shape in which the least material is neces- 

 sary, and so the well-known pyramidal form 

 of the cell bottom is formed. 



It is of great importance to have a correct 

 idea of the way in which the bees build 

 combs. It explains many observations. For 

 instance, some bee-keepers have observed that 

 the flat-bottomed foundation with very thin 



midrib will show the pyramidal form of the 

 cell-bottom more or less after they are drawn 

 out by the bees ( I myself have had no experi- 

 ence with this kind of foundation). If this is 

 so (and I do not doubt it) the question arises 

 why it was not so with the drawn foundation 

 which The A. I. Root Co. made in 1897. This 

 foundation had cells about '4 inch deep. The 

 bees gnawed off about >s inch of this ; but the 

 remaining >^ inch had given enough stiffness 

 to the foundation so that the midrib could not 

 give way when the bees were drawing on both 

 sides. It is plain now why the side walls of 

 this foundation near the midrib were not thin- 

 ned by the bees. I believe that this founda- 

 tion would have given better satisfaction if the 

 cells had been only yi inch deep or less. It 

 would be interesting if experiments in this 

 line could be made. 



So we see it is an improvement that the cells 

 of the new foundation are y% inch deep only. 

 When the cell walls can not be made of natu- 

 ral thickness the}^ should not be deeper, as 

 the bees will gnaw them off, to remodel them 

 to the rim and draw them out anew — that is, 

 if the foundation is to be used for sections. 



Another question is, " Can we manufacture 

 and use an artificial comb for extracting or for 

 brood-combs?" It would take too much 

 space to consider this question now. 



Cutoff, Tex., Sept. 1. 



[We are just preparing a set of plates with 

 shallower walls, having the same delicate 

 base. These plates will turn the article out 

 more rapidly, and come nearer to being a 

 commercial possibility, than those we have 

 formerly made. — Ed.] 



VISIT AMONG THE BEE-KEEPERS. 



In the Willow-herb District. 



BY H. R. BOARDMAN. 



C(i>itinucd from page ygg. 



Upon this burnt land, in many places a 

 honey-flora of considerable importance has 

 sprung vip — goldenrod, boneset, asters, and 

 the famous willow-herb with which I was anx- 

 ious to make a more intimate acquaintance. 

 This kind of vegetation was confined mostly 

 to the swamps and swampy land. 



North of the burnt pine belt is a large tract 

 of hard-wood-timber land interspersed with 

 cedar swamps. This tract has not been devas- 

 tated by the fire except in the swamps. In 

 these have sprung up a great profusion of fall 

 bee-forage. The willow-herb I found here in 

 abundance mixed with the other bloom. Hard 

 maple is the prevailing timber, with basswood, 

 elm, and scattering trees of several other 

 varieties. A profusion of wild red raspberries 

 grows everywhere. 



We reached Petoskey in the evening, tired 

 with a long day's ride, and glad to welcome 

 the sight of a comfortable bed, but were up 

 and taking in the sights by the early light of 

 the next morning. 



Petoskey is a resort town, notably a hay- 

 fever resort, composed largely of hotels and 



