Plate II. Drones can only be bred in the larger and workers 

 in the smaller cells. The comb-foundation obtained from manu- 

 facturers is invariably impressed with the bases of worker-cells, 

 so that it is impossible, unless by accident some portion has 

 stretched, for the bees to build other than worker-comb on it. 

 The illustrations will make this clear. Plate I. shows a perfect 

 worker-comb built out on a full sheet of comb-foundation, while 

 Plate II. exhibits the result of the breaking-away of a portion and 

 the stretching of another portion due to careless fixing of what 

 was originally a full and perfect sheet of worker-comb foundation. 

 These are very interesting reproductions from photographs taken 

 specially for the purpose of this article. To the right of Plate II. 

 can be seen where the bees took advantage of the accident to 

 build drone-comb, and also where on the upper left centre the 

 original worker-cells have stretched and been utilised for breeding 

 drones. At the lower right-hand corner of Plate I. a small por- 

 tion of the original sheet of comb-foundation upon which the comb 

 is built can be distinctly seen. 



Securing control over breeding is not the only advantage gained 

 by a free use of comb-foundation. For instance, a fair swarm of, 

 say, 5 lbs. weight hived upon ten sheets of comb-foundation in a 

 Langstroth hive will have in twenty-four hours, in an average 

 season, several of the sheets partially worked out and a goodly 

 number of eggs deposited in the cells, and in thirty-six hours the 

 queen can henceforward lay to her full extent. In from a week to 

 nine days (depending upon the weather) the whole ten sheets will be 

 worked out into worker-combs, and a great deal occupied with brood 

 and honey, and the hive will then be ready for the top or surplus 

 honey super. In twenty-two or twenty-three days young worker- 

 bees will begin to emerge, and from this on the colony will grow 

 rapidly in strength from day to day. 



Contrast this favourable condition of things with what takes 

 place when only narrow strips of comb-foundation are furnished. It 

 will take under the same conditions a similar swarm from four to 

 iive weeks to fill the hive with comb, and then there will be a large 

 proportion drone-comb, which is the very thing to guard against. 

 Consider what the difference in time alone will make in the profit- 

 able working of a hive, especially in a short season. Then ao-ain 

 with regard to the difference in the initial expense between usino- 

 full sheets and strips, which seems to influence many beekeepers in 

 favour of the latter system : Even in that there is a gain in favour 

 of the method I am advocating. For instance, the cost of filling the 

 ten frames with sheets of best comb-foundation would be (with ex- 

 penses of getting thera added) about 4s., and with strips — sav, two 



