6 Bulletin 54. 



The above table shows that the very heavy foundation gave a 

 comb midrib weighing 5.90 grains more to the square inch than the 

 midrib of natural comb. Medium brood foundation gave a midrib 

 3.08 grains heavier to the square inch, or almost two and one-half 

 times the weight of natural midrib. The lightest midribs were ob- 

 tained by the use of extra thin and thin super foundations, aver- 

 aging but .85 to .90 grains to the square inch more than natural 

 midrib. 



The use of the "1898" deep-cell foundation manufactured by 

 Mr. E. B. Weed gave rather surprising results. The midrib from 

 the foundation, before it had been worked over by the bees, averaged 

 but .40 grains to the square inch more than the natural midrib, 

 while the midrib of comb built on this foundation weighed 1.34 

 grains more. The midrib of this foundation was not uniform in 

 thickness, in some places being thinner and in others thicker than 

 in natural comb, as shown in Plate 4, Fig. d. Where the midrib 

 was thick there was little or no thinning by the bees, but where it 

 was very thin they reinforced the weak places by "plastering" on a 

 quantity of wax. These thickened places are plainly shown at n. 

 Fig. c, and at/ of the plate just mentioned ; and at b of Plate 1, and 

 account for the increased weight of the comb midrib. Fig. /, just 

 mentioned, is from, one of the worst samples I have seen. Natural 

 midrib is shown at e. 



The difference in weight between the heavier artificial founda- 

 tions and the midribs of the comb built upon them is too great to 

 result from the thinning of the short cell walls alone, and can only 

 be accounted for on the supposition that the bees do remove wax 

 from the midribs of these foundations. The examination under a 

 microscope of any heavy foundation that the bees have just begun 

 to work will show the marks of their mandibles in the wax. At 

 first the wax is left very rough, as shown in Plate 1, Fig. g, consider- 

 ably magnified. At h is shown the smooth bottoms of the finished 

 cells on the same foundation, which was medium brood in both 

 cases. 



To be convinced that heavy foundations have their midribs 

 thinned, but not thinned to correspond with the midribs of natural 

 comb, the reader has only to look at the figures in Plate 2. At a is 

 shown a section of heavy foundation, and at h and g are shown mid- 

 ribs of comb built on this foundation. The lower third of 

 6 is a midrib of natural comb built on the foundation. At c and 

 the lower end of d are shown sections of the medium brood founda- 

 tion, whilo the upper portion of d and all of e show to what extent 

 the midrib of this foundation was thinned. Notice also in this con- 

 nection, that the full thinning of both foundation and cell walls is 

 accomplished while the walls are yet quite short. 



The fact that foundations are thinned was also shown by actual 



