and its Economic Management. 333 



produce i lb. of wax 6i lbs. of honey would be consumed. 

 When the cost of living was carried out the bees were 

 reduced about one-third, so that 2 ozs. per day should be 

 within the mark. In the height of the season with every- 

 thing favourable it is only reasonable to say that the cost 

 of production is really much less, and probably less than 

 5 lbs. of honey are consumed in actually producing one 

 pound of wax under natural conditions. 



Comparative Cost. 



In the course of the experiment I found that about eight 

 standard frames (14 inches by 8^ inches) of new comb will 

 give one pound of refined wax.i It is surprising what a 

 large amount of refuse is left after melting the most beauti- 

 fully white combs, so that the actual weight of wax obtained 

 is much less than that of the original combs. Observe 

 this : one pound of wax, costing the producer less than 

 IS, 6d., fills eight frames with finished comb. To do this 

 with foundation i^ lb. of that article is required, costing 

 in hard cash at the least 2s. 6d. for the base only ; to this 

 the bees add considerable of their own production before 

 the combs can be completed'; making the total cost much 

 over 3s. Facts are stubborn things which cannot be 

 ignored, and the bee-keeper will do well to consider if he 

 cannot best produce wax by saving the cost of 'brood 

 foundation rather than attempt to make his bees manufac- 

 ture it for sale, though the latter might very well be done 

 in tropical regions, or even some other localities where 

 Nature's bounteous hand provides honey by the scores of 

 tons, and the value of it is but small. 



