WAX AND COMB BUILDING. 53 



consume from fifteen to twenty-five pounds of honey, (Dr. Kirt- 

 land says twenty-five,) for the production of a single pound of 

 wax. The wax exudes from the rings or folds of the 

 abdomen of the worker, forming thin flakes or scales, 

 which are removed as fast as formed and used for 

 constructing combs. It takes about two and a half 

 pounds of wax to fill a hive of ordinary size with 

 comb. By confining a swarm of bees in a movable- 

 8. Abdomen of the comb hive and feeding them, the bees will build 



worker magnified, ° ' 



w '«. ing " ie8Cale80f comb, consuming about twenty pounds of sweet to 

 produce one pound of comb or wax. It will readily be seen that 

 wax is by far the most expensive article used by the bees. The 

 time spent in constructing the comb should also be taken into the 

 account, which, if occupied in gathering honey, would, at this 

 season of the year, enable them to store much more, and making 

 the cost of a pound of comb equivalent to at least twenty-fb e 

 pounds of honey. This honey, at twenty-five cents per pound, 

 would give us six dollars and twenty-five cents as the cost of a 

 pound of comb. Good combs melted into wax and taken to 

 market might bring forty cents per pound, which, deducted from 

 the cost price, would show a loss of five dollars and eighty-five 

 cents on every pound of wax sold. These estimates show that 

 the bee-keeper cannot afford to melt down any combs that can 

 be used to advantage by the bees. Even drone comb, if not too 

 dark colored, should be used in the surplus boxes. If first 

 swarms are put into hives furnished with empty combs, they will 

 often fill them in an incredible short time, and swarm the same 

 season. For saving all good pieces of comb, whether large or 



