24 



'THU msmmmi€-mn mmm j&^mnm'Lr. 



they all crumbled oft' in using after- 

 ward. 



The next year I secured another 

 mold 12x12 inches square, on which I 

 can easily make froi i 10 to 50 pounds 

 of wax into foundaliu.i in one day ; 

 and as these have been kept from frost, 

 except when dry, tliey are now as good 

 as ever, after having made consider- 

 able foundation on tliem for myself 

 and neighbors. 



Hovr to Use Foundation molds. 



All that is necessary to do in mak- 

 ing the foundation is, to have the ex- 

 tractor can filled with water, which is 

 kejit cold by ice, or allowing a stream 

 of cold spring-water to run through it, 

 on top of which (can) a rack is fixed 

 similar to the one which goes over the 

 Dadant uncapping can, upon which the 

 molds rest. Having the can thus 

 fixed, plunge the molds in the water 

 an hour before you wish to commence 

 work. 



Now place a large pan filled with 

 wax on the stove, having the can near 

 by, or, what is preferable, if you have 

 one, place an oil-stove beside the can, 

 having a melting dish fixed for the 

 purpose on the oil-stove. This dish 

 shoidd have an apron made of tin to 

 extend from it to the can, so that all 

 drippings will run either back into the 

 melter, or over into the can.the former 

 being preferred. 



Being thus readj', raise the molds 

 from the water, let them drain a sec- 

 ond, and then place in position in the 

 frame over the can, when with a small 

 dipper, or the fount that comes with 

 the molds, pour the required amount 

 of melted wax on the lower plate of 

 the mold. As soon as the wax is on, 

 shut the mold with a steady hand, 

 giving it as much of a pressure as is 

 convenient by bearing down with the 

 hand. In a few seconds open the 

 molds, and remove the sheet of foun- 

 dation, when you are ready to pour on 

 melted wax again. 



After about 5 or 6 sheets of founda- 

 tion have been made, the molds will 

 begin to get warm, when, if heavy 

 foundation is to be made, they must 

 be opened and put in the water again 

 to cool ofl', leaving them in the water 

 for about a minute. If thin founda^ 

 tion is desired, dip the molds in the 

 water only enough to keep them so 

 cool that they will not tear the founda- 

 tion to pieces in opening them. I make 

 the heavy foundation to run about 6 

 square feet to the pound, and the thin 

 from 11 to 12 square feet ; and 1 can 

 make good wages doing it, if only 20 

 colonies were kept, and those to be 

 furnished with nothing but starters ; 

 for I have my own wax, extractor can, 

 dipper, stove, etc. 



Now if Mr. Dadant or Mr. Van 

 Deusen should see a sheet of this 



foundation, they would doubtless say, 

 " Doolittle, this does not compare with 

 the foundation that we make ;" when I 

 would say, '-By wliat authority do you 

 decide ?" expecting to be met with, 

 '• See, it does not look nearly so per- 

 fect as does ours." Then I should say, 

 "Admitted;" but when the authority 

 is the bees, they say : " Give us the 

 molded foundation, and we will work 

 it out just a little quicker tlian the 

 other, and after it is completed you nor 

 any other man can tell any diflference." 



From my experience with this and 

 nearly all other kinds of comb founda- 

 tion, 1 am convinced that this molded 

 foundation is equally as good as any ; 

 is accepted by the bees just as soon as 

 that made on the Given press, and a 

 little sooner than that made on any of 

 the roller mills ; and the best of all is, 

 that any one can make it at his leisure, 

 use up his own wax, even down to the 

 last ounce, thus being independent, 

 and keeping his jiennies at home to 

 feed and clothe his family. 



To anticipate an error regarding 

 this article, 1 will say that 1 am in no 

 way interested in the manufacture, or 

 the sale, of the molds, any more than I 

 am in all other bee-keeping appliances. 

 I have written this article only for two 

 reasons, viz : First, to tell my friends 

 regarding what 1 believe is a good 

 thing ; and, second, to answer my 

 numerous correspondents publicly, so 

 as to avoid the strain on mj' time and 

 health that a private answer to each 

 would cause. 



Borodino,© N. Y. 



COUSINS TALK. 



Patting^ Bee-Literature on its 

 Proper Basi§. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY R. m'knIGHT. 



So, after all, Dr. Mason " has no un- 

 kindly feeling toward his cousins across 

 the border." Well, I began to suspect 

 as much, from his own utterances, as 

 well as from the good character that 

 has been given him by others who 

 know him. When he administers the 

 lash, it is for the sole object of correc- 

 tion, and not for the purpose of inflic- 

 ting pain. He tells us so himself, and 

 who has a better right to know ? His 

 dearest wish is ti5 exercise a fatherly- 

 care over the erring. " All wayward 

 people who go astray," are the especial 

 objects of his care; and "to aid in 

 getting them in the right way when 

 they go astray," he feels to be a duty to 

 which he has been called. 



In pursuance of this self-imposed 

 task, he tells us that he is not going to 

 "confine himself" "to any one erro- 

 neous statement," but thinks he shall 



" wander around after such bee-litera- 

 ture as gets off its base." I admire the 

 Doctor's courage, for none but but a 

 coin-ageous man would undertake such 

 a Herculean task, and none but a hoi)e- 

 ful one could expect to succeed in the 

 undertaking. It would be a cruel thing 

 to say or to do anything calculated to 

 make rough the path of duty which the 

 Doctor has mapped out for himself, 

 however much we may doubt his abilitj' 

 to reach the goal of his ambition. 



After this he may tell us as often as he 

 may please, that we are a people given 

 to " bombast ;" we will remember that 

 it is just a way he has of putting bee-lit- 

 erature on its proper basis. He may 

 charge us with practicing " dishonesty 

 and i'r.aud," but we will know that these 

 charges are only the hammer and the 

 trowel that he emploj's in making the 

 " crooked " things straight. He may 

 say that we steal the name of your lin- 

 den honey, but he does not mean it, for 

 he " has no objection to Canadians giv- 

 ing their products any name that they 

 choose." 



The Doctor says that he does not hate 

 anybody. I sincerely believe that to be 

 a fact, and regret having used the word 

 in a way that he might think it was 

 meant to have a personal application to 

 himself. I am upon my knees in peni- 

 tence, that I misunderstood his motives. 

 I shall hereafter only think of him as 

 one of America's gi-eatest philanthro- 

 pists. "A gude New Year to j-ou," 

 Doctor, " and many happj' returns." 



Owen Sound, Out., Dec. 30, 1887. 



UNFINISHED SECTIONS. 



Ho'w Best to Utilize tbe Partly- 

 Filled Sections. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY C. THEILMANN. 



In the report of the proceedings of 

 the North American Bee-Keepers' Con- 

 vention at Chicago, I find the discussion* 

 on the re-use of comb built in sections 

 to be filled with honey the next season. 

 It is gratifying to know that the gi-eat 

 majority of bee-keepers consider these 

 combs of great advantage, by which 

 they can obtain larger crops of honey, 

 and of just as good quality, as by the 

 use of foundation. I can hardly un- 

 derstand why some bee-keepers cannot 

 obtain good honey in nice, white combs 

 built in sections the year previous. 



Some years ago it was a real per- 

 plexity to me, to have a lot of un- 

 finished sections in different states of 

 completion, after the harvest was over, 

 and I hardly knew what to do with 

 them. I then tried in dift'erent ways 

 to make use of thciu. Those nearly 



