360 thb bes-kespbe's guide ; 



thus worker-brood ; and, second, to furnish straight, nice 

 combs. We have proved in our apiary repeatedly, that by use 

 of foundation and a little care in pruning out the drone-comb, 

 we could limit or even exclude drones from our hives, and we 

 have but to examine the capacious and constantly crowded 

 stomachs of these idlers to appreciate the advantage of such a 

 course. Bees may occasionally tear down worker-cells, and 

 build drone-cells in their place ; but such action, I believe, is 

 not sufficiently extensive ever to cause anxiety. I am also 

 certain that bees that have to secrete wax to form comb do less 

 gathering. Wax-secretion seems voluntary, and when rapid 

 seems to require quiet and great consumption of food. As 

 before suggested, may this not be due to greater or less activity 

 of the bees ? If we make two artificial colonies equally 

 strong, supply the one with combs, and withhold them from 

 the other, we will find that this last sends less bees to the 

 fields, while all the bees are more or less engaged in wax- 

 secretion. Thus, the other colony gains much more rapidly in 

 honey ; first, because more bees are storing ; second, because 

 less food is consumed. This is undoubtedly the reason why 

 extracted honey can be secured in greater abundance than can 

 comb honey. 



It also pays remarkably well to use foundation in the 

 sections. If we use very thin foundation — eleven or twelve 

 feet to the pound — all talk about " the fish-bone " need not 

 frighten any one. Foundation for the sections should be 

 twelve or thirteen feet to the pound, while that for the brood- 

 chamber is better at seven or eight feet. Prof. Gillette's 

 experiments and measurements show that the thickness of 

 midrib of natural comb varies from .003 to .006 of an inch in 

 worker, and from .0048 to .008 in drone, and is thickest towards 

 the top. The cell-walls were found as thin where foundation 

 was used as were the natural walls. The walls vary in thick- 

 ness from .0018 to .0028 of an inch. Bees always thin the base 

 if thicker than natural, but never thin it to equal the natural 

 base. Prof. Gillette found drone-comb weighed 4.32 feet to 

 the pound, worker 5.40, and that from thin foundation 4.23. 

 As comb honey is generally in drone or store comb, we see we get 

 but little more in wax honey from thin foundation. The foun- 



