A BKIEF SURVEY OF HAWAIIAN BEE KEEPING. 55 



in transit, and naturally also wax weighs much less than an amount 

 of honey of equal money value, and the freight would be very much 

 reduced. 



When the author arrived on the islands one of the first questions 

 asked him was how to bring about a production of more wax and 

 less or even practically no honey. After getting the available data, 

 which were freely given, a method was suggested which promises to 

 give some results, if we may judge by results obtained in some experi- 

 ments conducted in the short time which could be spent in Hawaii. 

 Before outlining this proposed method it will be well to review the 

 basis for the recommendations. 



It is a well-known fact among bee keepers that at the time a swarm 

 is hived the activity of the inmates of the new home is at its height. 

 The bees not only collect nectar with great vigor, but, there being no 

 wax in the hive under natural conditions, the wax secreters become 

 very active and in a marvelously short time the hive is supplied with 

 combs. It is also true, of course, that wax is secreted at any time 

 during the active season when it is necessary that more combs be built 

 to accommodate brood or stores, provided, of course, that there is 

 room. If a comb is removed from the center of the brood chamber 

 or from the super, it is replaced as needed, but, as a rule, not so rap- 

 idly. The rapidity of the honey flow influences this wax secretion 

 greatly. 



The amount of honey consumed in the secretion of a pound of wax 

 is a much-debated question among students of bees, the various esti- 

 mates ranging all the way from 2 to 20 pounds. There seems to be 

 little hope at present of arriving at anything definite on this question, 

 and the author is strongly inclined to the belief that the reason for 

 this great variation in estimates is due to the fact that the same 

 amount of honey is not always needed to bring about a desired result. 

 It would be bootless, therefore, to pay any attention to this phase 

 of the question in trying to get a method of wax production. Syl- 

 viac, in a series of articles in L'Apiculteur for 1901, offers evidence 

 that the amount of honey consumed in secreting a pound of wax is 

 least following swarming, and this quite coincides with the fact that 

 wax building is most rapid at that time. 



In dealing with wax secretion on a commercial basis, data must be 

 drawn from the receipts per colony under different methods of man- 

 agement. The actual consumption of honey becomes of minor im- 

 portance. It was learned that the average annual return per colony, 

 after deducting freight charges, leakage, and other expenses incurred 

 after the honey leaves the apiary, would not exceed $2.50. The hives 

 are on an average two stories high during the entire year and, during 

 the height of the honey flow, are often higher. AH figuring was 



