187G 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



245 



COMB FOUNDATIONS. 



THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MATTER. 



eUCH scores of pleased reports were recei\ed from all 

 sides after we used nothing but pure wax, it never 

 occurred to us that any one could be displeased 

 with them, and in fact nothin,^ unfavorable was received 

 in rejrard to the yellow, until rather late in the season. 

 Geo. Perry, Peru, Ills., complained that his bees wjuld 

 not go into the boxes containing the white, and as we are 

 obliged to inirchase the white from the wax bleachers, 

 we thought It might have in that instance contained 

 something the bees did not like. We returned the §3.00 

 he sent and $4.25 more for express and trouble. But two 

 complaints have been received in regard to the yellow ; 

 one is from R. S. Becktell, Xew Buffalo, Mich., who says 

 they sag or bulge unless kept straight by sticks every 

 four inches, and that the queen does not lay in them. 

 This may be because he did not have a filled comb at 

 ea«h side as we have done, and it is possible that we may 

 have been so careless as to get hold of wax adulterated 

 with tal!ow. To guard against this we have carefully ex- 

 amined it all, and cakes that seemed suspicious, have 

 been made into sheets and tested in our own hives. So 

 far, we have never found a piece of yellow wax, that 

 woidd not make beautiful cmob, and wo have tested some 

 almost black. The other and the strangest of all, comes 

 from Jlr. Herbert Burch. As he furnished the wax for 

 the 21 lbs, and as we called it an unusually fine lot, it is 

 hard to see where trouble could get in, and yet he says 

 the queens will not lay in it, that it is raised into comb 

 much slower than they build natural coaib, and that the 

 honey is n.>t salable after it is stored. He lays the troub- 

 le all to our making the sheets -iH feet to the lb, instead 

 of (! as he ordered it, and makes out a bill of damages at 

 SaO.OO, saying he lest S150.00, by putting the fdn. in 300 

 boxes that would hive been filled, and would have 

 brought him 50c. each, had he not done so. We have 

 paid the .JoO.OO, but with it went the best appeal we 

 could make for a little more mercy on our hard earnings. 

 We have not haard definitely from Mr. B. since ; he may 

 be inclined to think diilerently and it may be we are 

 wrong, and that it is right for us to pay the money. 



Mr. G. M. Doolitlle is the next and last, and his 

 claim that the thickness of the bottom of the cells is a 

 serious objection is not worth debating, (or tons of 

 the honey have been i)roduced, and hundreds of bee- 

 keepers have used the fdn. We can if desired make 

 fdn. for boxes, so thin as to be almost nothing at all, 

 though it may be hard to make such sheets a foot 

 ■wide. We have at present more than 10( partly filled 

 section boxes, and an ordinary observer would find 

 no difference ia the cells below where the fdn. ex- 

 tends. Wc can find occasionally one v.here the fdn. 

 lias been left something near its original thickness. 

 The last and most serious objection is that the fdn. 

 does not save the time of the bees to any great ex- 

 tent. Mr. Doolittle thinks a tr'angular piece of nat- 

 ural comb, 3 inches on a side, will be worth as much 

 as /?Wi»(/ the section with fdn. To test this we have 

 tried perhaps two dozen sections with natural comb 

 of all sizes, and have had tliem distributed through 

 diU'ercnt liivcs. If we made no mistake, all but the 

 largest were beliind the fdn , and were so irregular, 

 compared with the fdn., that we decided ia favor of 

 the l"du. In our large glass boxes, the bees covered 

 the fdn. completely at once and the boxes were filled 

 throughout almost at the same time, while v, ith 

 starters, they progressed only as fast as the co.nbs 

 were bui'.t; this latter was in the house apiary where 

 we could v.-atch it con-tantlj'. 



Afheetofthe same lot that Mr. Burch complains 



of, works beautifully in our hives, and it contains 

 brood at the present lime. Any who are inclined can 

 see plenty of nice combs, made from both white and 

 yellow in our apiary, and yet we have never thrown 

 one away. We would advise using a piece of fdn. for 

 each section box, about 4 ,'< inches square ; and at 75c. 

 per lb. this will cost about 2c. Now if a piece of nat- 

 ural comb, new and white, of this size, or perhaps a 

 little smaller, can be furnished for tlie same monev, 

 we shall without doubt be obliged to lay the fdn. aside 

 for box honey. Will friend I), tell us what his start- 

 ers probablycost him, taking into account the time 

 the bees lose when they are building them ? 



About the damages; for two years past I have paid 

 every claim of the kind that has been made, and I 

 have proudlj- mentioned that among our hundreds of 

 patrons I have hardly felt one to be unreasonable. I 

 dislike to lose my faith in liumanity, but seriously, a 

 few more bills for $.50. and I should be unable to keep 

 up Gleanings, even with all its faults and failings. 

 What shall I do ? 



THE CENTENariAI., HONEY SHOW. 



M'R. EDITOR :— As the time is fast approaching, 

 and many inquiries are made, we will again 

 give notice that the special show of honey and 

 wax at the great International Exhibition of Phila- 

 delphia, will commence October 23d, and close No- 

 vember 1st, 1876. Entry blanks can be procured oi" 

 Capt. Burnet Landreth, Chief of Bureau of Agricul- 

 ture, or of the undersigned. 



In addition to the inducements offered by the Cen- 

 tennial Commission, the North Eastern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association offers §35,(0 for the best and most merit- 

 orious display of comb and extracted honey and wax, 

 conditions as follows : The honey and wax must be 

 of fine quality and put up in elegant packages, such 

 as are most likely to find ready sale at high prices. 

 Other thinr/s hebuj equal, the larger the display the 

 greater the merit. 



The apjiointment of judges an this prize is retained 

 by the Centennial Commission, the award being sub- 

 ject to the above regulations. 



The Association oft'ers S^25,00 for the best and most 

 practical essay on "How to keep bf>,es successfidly du- 

 ring winter and spring." These essays should not 

 treat on the physiology of the bee, except so lar as is 

 necessary to explain instincts and management. 



This is suggested with a view to making them brief. 

 With bee-keepers, the ultimate idea of succk.-^s is the 

 attainment of pecuniary reward, and in deciding upon 

 the merits of the essays, the judges will keep this idea, 

 prominent. Arrangements are being perfected to 

 have a committee of three from different parts of the 

 United States to decide upon the best essay. 



We certainly hope a lively interest will be taken in 

 the matter of display, so that American bee-keepers 

 shall get the credit due them for the rapid progress 

 they have made. 



We have written the officers of the National Bee- 

 Keepers' Association for information as to their op- 

 erations ; the president informs us that his health is 

 too feeble to make any arrangements, and the Secre- 

 tary had supposed the association nearly or altogether 

 dead. We were sorry to hear of the want of energy 

 that has characterized the operations of that body 

 of late. 



Upon tliis occasion the attendance of bee-keepers 

 should be the largest ever known in this country. 

 The varied aud magnificent display at the Exhibition, 

 the show of apiarian apparatus and special thow of 

 honey, together with the satisfaction attained from a 

 fraternal shaking of hands and mutual interchange of 

 ideas, of those long acquainted through printed me- 

 diums, should be ample i:idncemont to make a long 

 tiip to this meeting. 



