BEE-CULTURE. 



I. PRACTICAL ADVICE. 



I. THE USE OF COMB -FOUNDATION. 



The success of modern bee-culture hinges almost entirely in the first place 

 on securing complete control over the breeding, and this can only be 

 obtained by compelling the bees to build whatever kind of comb is desired. 

 Under natural conditions, or when in hives and allowed freedom to 

 construct their combs, they invariably build a goodly proportion of 

 drone-comb, which is subsequently utilised for breeding drones. This 

 accounts for the large number of drones to be seen in box hives, or where 

 no attempt has been made to control breeding. Drones, as most people 

 are aware, are non-producers — that is to say, they do not gather 

 honey, or even, so far as we know, do any work in the hives. They are 

 physically incapa,ble, but they consume a large quantity of food gathered 

 by the workers, and where many are present the yield of honey from that 

 hive, and consequently the profit, will be considerably curtailed. Some 

 drones are needed for the impregnation of young queens, but it is found 

 in practice that a sufficient number for this purpose will be bred, even 

 when the breeding of them is restricted as much as possible, by making 

 the fullest use of worker-ccmb foundation. 



The difierence between worker and drone comb is in the size of the 

 cells, the former measuring slightly over five to the inch, and the latter 

 a little over four. The proportions are shown in Plate II. Drones can 

 only be bred in the larger and workers in the smaller cells. The comb- 

 foundation obtained from manufacturers 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 



1 — Bee-culture. 



