232 Hoiu to use Foundation. 



The foundations shovld always be the right size either for worker or 

 drone-comb. Of course the latter size would never be. used in 

 the brood-chamber. I much doubt if it is wise to use it at 

 all. The advantage of foundation is, first, to insure worker- 

 comb, and thus worker-brood, and second, to furnish wax, so 

 that the bees may be free to gather honey. We have proved 

 in our apiary repeatedly, that by use of foundation, and a lit- 

 tle 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 oc- 

 casionally tear down worker-cells, and build drone-cells in their 

 place; but such action, I believe, is not sufficiently extensive 

 to ever cause anxiety. I am also certain that bees that have 

 to secrete wax to form comb, do much less gathering. Wax 

 secretion seems voluntary, and when rapid seems to require 

 quiet and great consumption of food. If we make two artifi- 

 cial colonies equally strong, supply the one with combs, and 

 withhold them from the other, we will find that this last sends 

 far 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 stor- 

 ing ; second, because less food is consumed. This is undoubt- 

 edly the reason why extracted honey can be secured in far 

 greater abundance than can comb-honey. 



Unless the frames are wired, the foundation should only 

 touch the top of the frame where it is securely fastened. If 

 wired, the frames should be full. 



It also pays remarkably well to use foundation in the sec- 

 tions. With proper care, all talk about "the fish bone" need 

 not frighten any one. Foundation for the sections should be 

 about seven feet to the pound, while that for the brood-chamber 

 is better at five feet. The foundation should fill the sections. 

 Of course, foundation for the sections — in fact, all foundation — 

 should only be made of nicest, cleanest wax. Only pure, clean, 

 unbleached wax should be used in maki^ig foundation. We should 

 be very careful not to put on the market any comb-honey where 

 the foundation has not been properly thinned by the bees. 

 Perhaps a very fine needle would enable one to determine this 

 point without injury to the honey. With our present founda- 

 tion there is little danger. 



