Am,No°vUri8^4arm'}        Bee-keeping  Industry  of  America.  587 
charged  frames  from  the  hives,  and  the  whole  then  inserted  within  an 
enclosure  like  an  oil  drum,  fitted  with  a  tap.  The  apparatus,  with  its 
frames  of  honey,  is  fitted  into  pivots  above  and  below,  and  is  then 
swiftly  rotated  by  a  tooth  and  pinion  attachment.  The  honey,  by 
centrifugal  force,  is  thus  thrown  from  the  frames,  and  is  drawn  off  by 
the  tap  in  the  enclosing  drum. 
"  Comb  foundation  "  is  another  of  the  improvements.  The  bees,  it 
appears,  if  left  to  themselves,  not  only  occupy  too  much  of  the  honey- 
making  season  in  comb  building,  but  also  work  up  too  much  valuable 
material  to  suit  the  commercial  notions  of  the  modern  bee  manager. 
Honeycomb  is  made  of  pure  wax,  which  the  working  bees  exude  from 
minute  folds  of  their  bodies  in  the  shape  of  thin  flakes  or  scales.  It  is 
estimated  that  every  square  inch  of  comb  built  by  the  bees  is  done  at 
the  expense  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  times  its  weight  in  honey. 
Thus  the  bee-keeper  resorts  to  comb  foundation,  and  by  saving  the 
bee  the  work  of  making  it,  obtains  the  extra  honey.  A  little  machine 
with  iron  rollers,  resembling  in  form  the  wringer  in  a  clothes  washer, 
is  used  to  roll  out  beeswax  into  thin  sheets  of  comb  foundation.  These 
are  fastened  on  the  frames,  and  the  frames  dropped  into  their  places  in 
the  hive,  when  the  bee  proceeds  at  once  to  business. 
At  first,  comb  foundation  was  not  a  success,  and  it  was  discovered 
that  the  hitch  occurred  in  the  sheets  being  rolled  out  plain.  The  bees 
would  not  work  because  they  could  find  no  trace  of  cells.  Then  an 
enterprising  inventor  engraved  his  rollers,  so  as  to  stamp  the  sheets  of 
beeswax  with  a  perfect  imitation  of  the  bees'  cells,  when,  thenceforth, 
the  busy  little  insects  buckled  down  to  work  with  as  much  satisfaction 
as  if  they  had  made  the  sheets  themselves.  Some  bee-keepers  roll  out 
their  own  foundation,  but  most  obtain  it  from  one  of  the  many  sup- 
pliers of  bee-keeping  requisites  that  are  to  be  found  all  over  the 
United  States.  Here  is  one  of  their  advertisements  : — "  We  are  pre- 
pared to  promptly  fill  all  comb  foundation  orders  at  the  following 
prices — one  to  ten  lb.,  55  cents  per  lb.;  fifty  lb.  or  over,  50  cents  per 
lb. ;  100  lb.  or  over,  45  cents  per  lb.  Our  largest  sheets  are  12  X  12 
inches,  and  run  from  5  to  8  square  feet  to  the  pound.  In  ordering 
give  inside  dimensions  of  frames.  If  ordered  by  mail  add  25  cents 
per  pound  to  above  charges  for  postage  and  extra  packing;  samples  by 
mail,  post  paid,  5  cents. " 
Another  triumph  of  the  new  system  is  the  "  smoker,"  by  which  the 
most  nervous  person  can  handle  and  work  among  the  bees  with  the 
