THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



is the most important in the United States, 

 It interests every agriculturist and every 

 owner of horses or cattle, and is a commo- 

 dity having an enormous sale. Still, who- 

 ever heard of a convention of hay makers ? 

 The king of crops seems able to take care of 

 itself without the intervention of an associa- 

 tion. The seed is sown, the elements being 

 favorable, the hay grows, modern machinery 

 puts it in the barn, and it is then forked out 

 every day to the stock. 



It is the same with our honey production — 

 Prdblem — A passably remote place in the 

 foot hills; bees in movable frame hives, 

 passably decent ; extractor, tank, gasoline 

 cans, and a knowledge and courage to take 

 the honey when it comes. Of course there's 

 no use for a hay convention or a bee con- 

 vention. 



Bloomington, Calif. Nov. 8, 1893. 



Why Given Founaation Went Out of the 

 Mark(.t.— A Caution in Regard to Win- 

 tering Bees in Heited Repositories. 



C. C. MILLER, 



TJRIEND Hutchin- 

 V' son : — In Decem- 

 ber Review you ask 

 for criticism, and 

 say. "If you like the 

 Review, say so." 

 Well, "so." Not 

 that I think it can't 

 be improved, for I 

 am "expecting occa- 

 sional surprises in 

 the way of improve- 

 ment, but I don't 

 know that I know enough to suggest the im- 

 provements. Perhaps you might have Hasty 

 write up what's going once in two weeks, 

 and issue an extra. Then you might keep 

 on being as fair as you have been. If you'll 

 do those two things you needn't stop my 

 paper. 



You seem to be aiding and abetting Bro. 

 R. L. Taylor in stirring up a question that 

 appeared to have been settled, I mean 

 foundation made in a press as compared 

 with that run through rolls. Years ago I got 

 Given foundation from Heddon. The wax 

 in it was softer than in any other, or at least 

 it seemed so to me. The reason given for 



the greater softness of walls, that the side 

 walls are not subjected to pressure, may be 

 correct. Is it not just possible that there 

 may be an additional reason in the sheeting 

 of wax in such thin sheets ? With the Given 

 press there is nothing except the melted wax 

 thrown into the press and then the wax 

 pushed up loosely in the side walls. 



[Beg pardon friend Miller, but the wax is 

 sheeted the same for a press as for a mill. 

 There is no melted wax thrown into the press. 

 Aren't you thinking of the efforts to make 

 fdn. with plaster molds ? — Ed.] 



Then Heddon stopped making the Given, 

 and I couldn't get any elsewhere. The 

 Dadants said they had never been able to 

 make any that was satisfactory. I don't 

 know in exactly what respect, but I suspect 

 they could not make it of the uniform char- 

 acter that can be made by running through 

 a mill. Our best foundation makers take a 

 pride in sending out foundation every inch 

 of which shall be of the same thickness. I 

 doubt if a sheet of Given was ever made that 

 did not have some part thicker or thinner 

 than the rest. I doubt if as nice looking 

 foundation can ever come from a Given 

 press as from a mill. But if the bees will 

 take to it and work it more readily, making 

 the thick as thin as desired, then we may 

 forego the matter of looks before it is made 

 into comb. 



For some reason, possibly because it is 

 easier for each man to make his own foun- 

 dation, presses seem to be more popular in 

 France and Germany than here. But bee- 

 keepers in this country, as a rule, prefer to 

 buy rather than to make their foundation, 

 and I think that is wise. If there should be 

 sufficient demand for the Given, undoubtedly 

 the manufacturers would produce it, even 

 though it would have to be furnished at a 

 higher price, and without any guarantee 

 that every inch should be same as sample. 



On page 348 friend Spaeth introduced a 

 subject that some time ago awakened a great 

 deal of interest in Germany — Pastor Wey- 

 gandt's method of wintering by \\ inter heat- 

 ing. But I can hardly share in the confidence 

 in the method that friend Spaeth shows in 

 his closing paragraph, from the fact that 

 outside of the inventor and some others there 

 does not seem to be as much confidence in 

 the system as there was a year or two ago. 

 I think likely that if you should ask the 

 leading German bee-keepers about it now, 

 their answer might be something like this : 



