and Us Economic Management. 189 



at that early date it is often difficult to get the bees strong 

 enough to do much more than provide for the expanding brood nest. 

 When bees can be so wintered that they will come out stronger in 

 spring than when they settled down for winter, we shall hear little 

 more about "over-stocking." That this desideratum will shortly 

 be an accomplished fact I am fully persuaded, and I hope on a 

 future occasion to give evidence to that effect. 



For use with my uncapping saws, the comb is held in a simple 

 manner by a frame secured to the upper part of the uncapping can, 

 and the cappings are rapidly re- 

 moved. The saws are as fine 

 as is consistent with strength, 

 that as little adhesive surface 

 as possible may be allowed to 

 " drag " on the combs. Being 



held in a frame, the blades are tightened by screws that they may 

 not bend. Both sides are uncapped at one operation. 



We are frequently told that drones are useful in keeping the 

 brood warm ; but why raise drones, if not required for breeding, 

 when in the same space of comb a larger number of workers could 

 be produced, who would add to the prosperity of the hive instead 

 of being useless consumers ? The statement is contradicted on 

 the face of it, for why is it the drones are present ' only when 

 additional heat can be dispensed with. As a simple matter of fact, 

 they have but one use, and that is the fertilization of the young 

 queens. 



At the same time that my first uncapping machine was being 

 developed another was constructed in Italy ; both have since been 

 supplanted by an improvement introduced by Mr. J. M. Hooker ; 

 though this again will be superseded by fine parallel saws, which I 

 have arranged to remove both sides of a comb at one operatioa 



