284 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



it does not hold the foundation for 

 rough handhng. When using sec- 

 tions in my home yard, I use the 

 Parker. If the wax is kept at tne 

 proper temperature and care is used 

 in pressing down every part, a starter 

 seldom drops ; the larger the pieces 

 used the more liable they are to be- 

 come detached. I have one apiary 

 six miles from the home yard, and 

 manage another nine miles off. I 

 prepare my crates at the home yard 

 and put them on a spring wagon and 

 drive off at a good round trot. Some- 

 times we go over stony roads and 

 things jingle ; for such usage, the 

 press is not over half as rehable as 

 resin and beeswax. The latter 

 method holds nearly, and generally, 

 all, where they belong. 'J'he press 

 is therefore practical if the sections 

 are to be handled with care. 



3. We have used foundation made 

 the season previous with good suc- 

 cess, and can see no difference in the 

 time required to work it out. If the 

 wax has lain in a pile of fifty or a 

 hundred sheets, the interior sheets 

 will keep fresh, while the outside 

 ones and the edges will have a ten- 

 dency to harden ; but the softness of 

 the wax can be restored by dipping 

 the sheet in warm water before plac- 

 ing in the hive. We therefore advo- 

 cate getting foundation in frames 

 early. 



4. Cold weather has no effect 

 upon foundation fastened with res- 

 in and beeswax. We had some 

 large size sections which were dis- 

 carded and placed in a loft where 

 they remained three or four years, 

 and had scores of freezings. We 

 recently overhauled them and found 

 foundation bleached out nearly white, 

 but still in position, and since see- 

 ing your question, regret we did not 

 save and test the annealing or warm 

 water process upon it. 



5. That depends upon the frame. 

 We use a frame eleven inches deep, 

 and would wire either heavy or light 

 to prevent sagging, and also to 



strengthen the virgin comb. We 

 have also several hundred Heddon 

 frames in use. These, we would not 

 wire, either with light or heavy foun- 

 dation. It is not a detriment in any 

 case. 



6. We prefer six or seven square 

 feet to the pound. 



EDITORIAL. 



From what we see in print from 

 time to time, we judge that many 

 persons are losing faith in bee cul- 

 ture as a business. We are told that 

 the foolish and suicidal practice of 

 inducing everybody to "keep bees," 

 has had the tendency to flood 

 the markets with the products of the 

 apiary, and has brought down the 

 price of" honey below the cost of 

 producUon, etc. 



Suppose all this was true, how is 

 the matter to be remedied now? 

 Who has the riglit arbitrarily to rule 

 from the apicultural field a part of the 

 honey producers ? All have equal 

 rights, or according to our way 

 of thinking ought to have equal 

 rights, to the "pursuit of happiness," 

 and if bee culture is our chosen pur- 

 suit, who has the right to ostracize 

 us? 



In our opinion the chronic grum- 

 blers who wish to keep the science 

 of modern beekeeping in the dark 

 for the one selfish purpose of keep- 

 ing up the price of honey so that 

 none but the rich can enjoy the "lux- 

 ury," having failed in their conspir- 

 acy to monopolize the honey business, 

 are the ones to retire. They are the 

 dissatisfied parties, and as such, are 

 the ones to give way to those who 

 are willing to work for moderate wa- 

 ges. 



The maxim which teaches that the 

 "most good to the greatest number" 

 works out the best results, will apply 

 in this case, as in all others. Every 

 man of ordinary forethought ought 

 to have known that bee culture, like 



