60 THE PBACTICAL BEK GUIDE. 



in frames in the brood nest and super box. Super foundation 

 is used in sections, and is made thin enoug-h to avoid, as far 

 as possible, the unpleasantness of a heavy mid-rib in comb 

 which is intended to be eaten. (101). 



113. Advantages of Foundation — The advantages secured 

 to bee-keepers by the use of foundation are many : — ( i ) When 

 whole sheets are used in frames and sections, the combs built 

 upon them are perfectly straight, so that they can be moved 

 piout in the hive (110) and transferred from hive to hive, oi 

 from crate to crate as required. (2) The combs built upon workei 

 foundation are composed generally of worker cells, so that by 

 the employment of this kind of foundation, the rearing of 

 drones can be limited (195), which is always a useful power in 

 the hands of the bee-keeper. (3) All the wax produced; all 

 old combs, scraps, and cappings removed for extracting pur- 

 poses may be given back to the bees, in the shape of founda- 

 tion, thus effecting a very considerable economy both of wax 

 and time. For example — Eleven sheets of brood foundation 

 to fill the eleven frames of a standard hive, and to supply 

 sufficient wax for the construction of the combs, may be pur- 

 chased for, say, 3s. 6d. ; but it is calculated that to manufacture 

 eleven such combs without the aid of foundation, about 13s. 

 worth of honey may be consumed by the bees (73). If now 

 we estimate the loss of honey left ungathered by the bees while 

 secreting wax and building the bases of the cells, in the season, 

 at IDS. to ^i we find that a supply of 3s. 6d. worth of foundation 

 will not only greatly expedite the labours of the bees and 

 reduce the tax upon their strength imposed by the secreting of 

 wax, but will also effect a saving of from ^i os. od. to 

 £1 los. od. per hive : — 



£ s. d. 

 Honey consumed in the secreting of 2 lbs. of 

 wax to form 11 combs, say 13 lbs. honey to 

 the I lb. wax = 26 lbs. honey at, say, 6d. 

 per lb. ... ... ... ... ... o 13 o 



Honey left ungathered by wax-secreting and 

 building bees during partial construction of 

 II combs, say 41 lbs. at 6d. per lb. ... 106 



I 13 

 Cost of II sheets brood foundation, say ... 03 



Estimated saving per hive ... £1 10 o 



(These are not War prices). 



Allowing for any over-estimation, if there be such, in the 

 above calculation, there yet remains sufficient margin to point 

 the great desirability, from a pecuniary point of view, of a 



