WAX AND 00MB. 195 



were placed precisely '/„ inch from their ends, thus 

 showing the exact depth of natural cells. It was also 

 curious to notice how readily the bees would lengthen the 

 artificial cells with wax, when they were used for storing 

 honey. In nearly every instance they were extended 

 enough to allow them to be uncapped with the honey 

 knife for extracting. These experiments are quite suflBci- 

 ent to incline me to the already expressed belief in the 

 future success of complete artificial comb. 



SUPPLYING MATERIAL FOR COMB. 



The amount of honey and labor involved in the con- 

 struction of natural comb, as previously indicated, shows 

 the extreme desirability of, in some way, utilizing refuse 

 wax, by converting it into perfect comb again, rather 

 than to dispose of it at 30 cents per lb. It has often 

 been noticed that, in warm weather, bees would bite oft 

 bits of wax from fragments of comb, and carry them into 

 the hive to use in comb-building. I have been, for a 

 long time, convinced, as I have since demonstrated, that 

 this process might be facilitated by furnishing the wax in 

 some feasible way. I have placed tender cappin-gs, that 

 had been taken from new combs when extracting, in 

 feeders, where the bees had free access to them, at a time 

 when they were building out foundations, and the wax so 

 furnished was speedily appropriated by the bees and 

 used in the completion of the combs. 



COMB-FOUKDATIOK. 



It is difficult to understand why comb-foundation has 

 received so little attention during the twenty or more 

 years, since it was first brought to notice by our German 

 friends. Prof. Cook states that the Germans first manu- 

 faeturied it in 1857, by merely pressing sheets of wax be- 

 tween flat, metal plates, stamped in such a way as to 



