122 



XIXTll AXXrAL REPORT OV THE 



I>ecially srilden-ntd, we havo tliat color- 

 ing- uitli us very decidedly, not I'rom 

 wliat u-nuld be called golden-rod. but 

 from a species .if sage-biaish. a spread- 

 ing toji c'>vered with xcllow tlowers, 

 that comes in about the first of Sep- 

 tember, and when that apjiears the bees 

 will carry that dust and pollen from 

 those dowers to the hives, and they 

 will color all white combs nearly, 

 more nr less, with that; and that is 

 discernible from the dandelion coloring 

 in new-built c(jmbs. I have .seen that 

 wax built from dandeliims, by a new 

 swarai, there being no other comb in 

 the hive, and it still maintained that 

 yellow color, the same as it did when 

 built with other combs. 



Mr. Holtermann — Did you find buck- 

 wheat to be yellow, too? 



Mr. Trickey — We have none in that 

 country. 



Dr. Bohrer — The bees would, some 

 times, in constructing a new comb, use 

 old comb, and work it over. I have 

 had them go into supers where the 

 combs were a little on the brown order, 

 take part of it, cut the cells down and 

 render it into comb; I have had them 

 take foundation that was put into su- 

 pers and carry that down below, 

 wihere I put them on a little too early. 

 We don't know just what the 'bees are 

 "up to" at all times. I have had them 

 carr.\- every i)article of wax out of the 

 supers, down below, and weld it into 

 comli; if the foundation happens to 

 be a little brown, the comb will be 

 colored. As far a^ my observation has 

 extended, it has simi)ly been confined 

 to the matter of finding scales on the 

 bfittuni-biiards : where swarms have 

 been turned into new .hives. I have 

 never seen anything V>ut white scales. 

 Mr. Wheeler has seen colored scales of 

 that kiml — was it always from swarms 

 that \\'ere newly hived? 



y\v. Wheeler — I think not. We don't 

 havt- any swarms at that time of the 

 year. 



Dr. P.ohrer — All scales I have ever 

 seen were white; it is generally where 

 tlu-y were ])Ut into new hi\-es and con- 

 iitructed tlu'ir uwn com)). 



President Yurk — I don't 

 would better spenil much 

 on the ciilnr of wax-scales. 



Mr. Trickex- — As to color rif wax, 

 with us. you take the whiti' honey that 

 has the white wax, and m-lt that up, 

 and ymi invariably get that white wax 

 without any colorin.g. 



nelieve we 

 more time 



Mr. Holtermann — There has been a 

 stateinent made in connection with the 

 color of honey — that the color of honey 

 would give the color of wax; I am 

 pi5sitive that is not correct, because 

 buckwheat honey will give as nice 

 white wax as I ihave ever had; I be- 

 lieve that the food does affect it, be- 

 cause you take a cow for instance; 

 you know what she feeds upon, and it 

 affects the butter; it is the same with 

 the color of the fiower the bee feeds 

 upon; I believe it has its effect. 



Source of Wax. 



"Can you tell the source of wax, 

 fron^ what kind of honey it came?" 



Mr. W;heeler — I moved from a white 

 clover district to a fruit country, and 

 I never before experienced that pe- 

 culiar colored wax you get in the 

 i^pring. until I came to Cook county; 

 from the dandelion blossom comes the 

 golden comb, just as quick as the bees 

 start on it. I never saw that golden- 

 colored wax until I came into this 

 county; I suppose it is because the 

 bees out farther don't gather enough 

 honey from the dandelions to color the 

 wax. 



Acid Smell in Comb Foundation. 



"Why does some foundation ihave 

 the strong acid smell? Why does it 

 cost as much as better foundation that 

 has no acid odor?" 



Mr. Dadant — I would not think that 

 would need any answer. 



Mr. Macklin — In connection with 

 that, why could not that wax that has 

 an acid odor be melted over again, 

 in pure water, and eliminate the acid 

 by that means? 



Mr. Dadant— After you have had acid 

 in once, it is pretty hard to get rid of 

 it. I have never tried a little quantity 

 in water, but I know that after you 

 have had acid in once, it is a hard 

 matter to get rid of it. 



Mr. Wheeler — I had a little experi- 

 ence once that caused me a good deal 

 of thinking. One year I hail quite a 

 imm'))er of hives, with starters of such 

 foundation, left over. I put new 

 swarms on; I shook my bees out In 

 those hives in each apiary, and in one 

 apiary I could not keep the bees in 

 them; they swarmed out; I lost about 

 fifty. I began to look around for the 

 cause, and I found that the founda- 

 tion I had been using had a strong 



