Excerpts from an article on foundation in the South African Bee
Journal, dated May/June 1967:

> What a blessing to beekeepers the invention of foundation in 1857 by Mehring. ... But it was not until 1875 that A. I. Root produced a machine to roll out was quickly enough and with cells perfect enough to be of commercial value.

> It had one fault: the cells were too small, there being 5 to an inch. Though the bees used it, they preferred their natural comb.  Mr. Root then measured the cells, and found there were 4.83 to the inch. These particulars refer to the Italian bee.

> Our African bee is slightly smaller, 5.2 cells making up one inch. So the rolling of comb foundation becomes a highly specialised job, where all conditions must be perfect.

> Forty years ago, the only place in South Africa where wax foundation was produced, was at Marianhill Monastery.

* * *

For the math challenged,
4.83 cells to an inch equals a cell size of 5.23 mm
5.2 cells per inch is 4.88 mm
5 cells to the inch, which is wrong for both sub species, is 5.08 mm

These are the facts, which confirm what I wrote in the July ABJ,
debunking the small cell size myth (ie., that European bees "used to
have" smaller cells than they do now).

Furthermore, as I stated in my article, little cells did not prevent
South African bees from being ravaged by varroa, and the African bees
resurged due to natural selection of mite resistant bees.

-- 
Peter

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