220 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15. 



I insisted that he should try it, because there 

 is so much to be gained in the economy of 

 manufacture and consequent reduction in 

 price to the bee-keeper, if rolls can be made 

 to do the work. 



As our readers will see, as per announce- 

 ments elsewhere, we are prepared to furnish 

 limited quantities of this new foundation, 

 which we shall call " Weed's thin base." The 

 sheets are cut and trimmed of a size to just 

 fill a section A%\ and the whole sheet, includ- 

 ing the walls on both sides, is about % inch 

 thick. Sheets run 10 feet to the pound, and I 

 confidently believe they will come the nearest 

 to giving a " no-gob " foundation of any thing 

 that was ever produced. I do not expect we 

 shall be able to produce a better article than 

 that made wholly by the bees ; but if we can 

 do as well we shall have reached our goal. 

 In Figs. 1 and 2 I show you samples of natural- 

 built combs, the bases of which you will see 

 are about as heavy as that shown in Fig. 6. 



TESTS OF FOUNDATION. 



The Extra-thin Carries Off the Palm; an Interest- 

 ing Series of Experiments. 



BY JOHN M. MYERS. 



[After I had prepared the matter above, the 

 following came to hand. 



The writer of it, instead of preferring ordi- 

 nary thin, gives his preference to the extra- 

 thin — not because bees take to it any better, 

 but because it makes a better-eating comb hon- 

 ey. But his experiments show that the heav- 

 ier grades of foundation are preferred by the 

 bees. Now, then, //we can give them this 

 same weight in a foundation that will give no 

 gob in the comb honey, don't you see we work 

 in harmony with both the bees and the eater? 

 —Ed.] 



I vtsed medium brood Weed process in the 

 brood-chamber, full sheets, frames wired. I 

 used this year thin and extra thin full sheets 

 and bottom starters in sections. The thin 

 foundation gave combs solidly filled and firm- 

 ly fastened to the wood all around, and would 

 safely stand shipping around the world. There 

 is more wax in the comb than can be eaten by 

 an expert, and be relished with the honey, 

 which fact condemns it for me and my direct 

 customers. 



The extra thin had a severe test, as I left 

 the sections on, week after week, waiting for 

 honey to flow from the abundant bloom of the 

 summer blossoms. But no honey was secret- 

 ed. 



The bees, for pastime, gnawed the corners 

 and trampled down the bottom starter, and, 

 as I thought, made sad havoc with a founda- 

 tion too delicate for such a season. In many 

 sections the cells were drawn out as far as the 

 little ridge of wax would go, and they were in 

 that condition when at last honey began com- 

 ing in late in August. Some colonies worked 

 on extra-thin filled sections solid to the wood, 

 with a pophole in one or two corners ; but in 

 many sections none at all were left. 



One colony of three-banders, worked on a 

 small top starter last year, worked combs fast- 

 ened at the top only, having a bee-space on 

 two sides and the bottom. This year the same 

 colony had the same fault, and tried to ac- 

 complish the same result on full-sheets and 

 bottom starter of extra thin. This queen loses 

 her head in the spring. 



I received a small consignment of the deep- 

 cell natural base drawn foundation and six 

 pieces of double extra-thin, 2 inches by about 

 £J/g. I made up a super of thin, extra-thin, 

 double extra-thin, and drawn or deep-cell 

 foundation. I placed this super on a strong 

 colony, and examined it every few days. It 

 was late in June, and no honey was gathered 

 until late in August. The bees filled the super 

 with their own busy presence, and worked 

 away at the various samples of assistance. 

 The thin foundation was drawn out into neat 

 shallow cells from top to bottom, and the top 

 and bottom starters joined in many cases. 

 The extra thin was eaten away at the corners, 

 and the cells drawn a little, but not over the 

 entire surface — mostly at or near the top. 

 The double extra-thin foundation was much 

 shorter, and rounded by the time honey came, 

 but shallow cells were formed near the fasten- 

 ing. The cells of the drawn foundation were 

 shortened back, and appeared to be of much 

 the same depth as the cells on the thin or 

 heaviest foundation. The double extra-thin 

 and drawn had no bottom starters, while the 

 thin and extra-thin had bottom starters of their 

 own weight. Each section was marked, and 

 they were mixed as much as possible. Honey 

 started to flow about August 26. I did not 

 note the progress of this super for four or five 

 days; then I found the entire super nearly 

 completed, and I placed another under it. 

 The top one was finished complete, and the 

 bottom one nearly finished, when the flow 

 was over. I found, on examination, that if I 

 had not marked the sections I could not have 

 distinguished the thin and extra-thin by their 

 appearance. The drawn and double extra- 

 thin had the same fault as the lower half — ran 

 into drone comb ; but all were solid to the 

 wood all around. 



I found in the practical test on the table that 

 the double extra thin was the nicest to eat. 

 No center rib could be noticed in cutting 

 through with a spoon, and honey and wax 

 melted away in the mouth together. This was 

 so of the upper third of the comb only. The 

 two lower thirds, drone comb, was much like 

 comb built on thin foundation. The drawn 

 foundation was more delicate than drone comb 

 — much like extra-thin. Extra- thin founda- 

 tion could be eaten with pleasure, wax and 

 all, and is so eaten by every one enjoying the 

 hospitality of our table. The thin I can not 

 enjoy, as I have to return cuds of wax to the 

 plate or bone-dish. 



Woodcliff, N. J., Nov. 26. 



SWEET CLOVER. 



.Stick to sweet clover I have it growing on my farm. 

 Cows eat it all right, so do sheep, and I kept my horses 

 two weeks on it when mown and fed to them. 



Arthur, 111. J. T. I^ee. 



