80 THE BEE keeper's MANUAL. 



If the bee-keeper in using his choicest honey will be sat- 

 isfied to dispense with looks, and will carefully drain it from 

 the beautiful comb, he may use all such comb again to great 

 advantage ; not only saving its intrinsic value, but greatly en- 

 couraging his bees to occu py and fill all receptacles in which 

 a portion of it is put. Bees seem to fancy a good start in 

 life, about as well as their more intelligent owners. To 

 this use all suitable drone comb should be put, as soon as it 

 is removed from the main hive. (See remarks on Drones.) 



Ingenious efibrts have been made, of late years, to con- 

 struct artificial honey combs of porcelain, to be used for 

 feeding bees. No one, to my knowledge, has ever attempt- 

 ed to imitate the delicate mechanism of the bee so closely, 

 as to construct artificial combs for the ordinary uses of the 

 hive ; although for a long time I have entertained the idea 

 as very desirable, and yet as barely possible. I am at pre- 

 sent engaged in a course of experiments on this subject, the 

 results of which, in due time, I shall communicate to the 

 public. 



While writing this treatise, it has occurred to me that 

 bees might be induced to use old wax for the construction ■ 

 of their combs. Very fine parings may be shaved ofT with 

 glass, and if given to the bees, under favorable circum- 

 stances, it seems to me veiy probable that they would use 

 them, just as they do the scales which are formed in their 

 wax pouches. Let strong colonies be deprived of some of 

 their combs, after the honey harvest is over, and supplied 

 abundantly with these parings of wax. Whether " nature 

 abhors a vacuum," or not, bees certainly do, when it occurs 

 among the combs of their main hive. They will not use 

 the honey stored up for winter use to replace the combs 

 taken from them ; they can gather none from the flowers ; 



