WAX AND COMB CONSTRUCTION. 
173 
fully corroborated by Dumas and Milne-Edwards 
( 35 ), who in 1844 repeated Huber’s experiments, 
and found that 500 grammes of sugar yielded 30 
grammes of wax, whilst the same quantity of honey 
only gave 20 grammes. Other observers, such as 
Gundelach and Berlepsch, have obtained similar re- 
sults, so that Huber’s statements may be considered 
as established. 
Although honey or saccharine matter is only 
needed, Berlepsch and others have pointed out that 
bees cannot do without pollen, to make up for the 
enormous wear and tear of tissue caused by wax 
secretion, so that in an indirect way it assists in its 
production, and they cannot continue secreting wax 
for a long time without it. The exact amount of 
honey consumed in producing a given quantity of wax 
is not yet decided, and scientists differ in their opinions. 
Experiments were carried out by Gundelach (60), 
Berlepsch (3), and Donhoff (31), with variable results 
from the different methods adopted and the difficulty 
of the trials. 
Gundelach found that it required 17 lbs. of honey 
to produce i lb. of wax when bees had no pollen, 
whereas Berlepsch states they took from 16 to 19 lbs. 
to produce the same quantity of wax under the same 
circumstances. Fed on sugar without pollen, 16 lbs. 
produced i lb. When they had both honey and 
pollen, 10 lbs. only were required for i lb. of the wax, 
while Donhoff arrived at 12 to 21 lbs. under similar 
conditions. Recent experiments of M. J. de Layens* 
* Bulletin dl Apiculture pour la Suisse Romande, 1886, p. 215. 
