Hi everyone, Ijust thought I would put in my two cents. Here in Tucson Arizona,there was a study done on smaller comb ; what effects it had on the mites; both tracheal and varroa. by putting them on smaller comb it eliminated most of the mites, both kinds. they did the test without chemicals , and it reduced the mites,and also the foulbrood. there are several big companies backing the move to use ten cells in 4.9 cm. comb. One is the Arizona Rangeland honey . The Southern Arizona Beekeepers Assoc. i that there are more who are changing over to the smaller comb.I can get the test results if anyone wants them. I believe if you use the smaller comb your bees won't be so irritated, then you can use less smoke. I,m changing over to it also. several commercial companies are already mass producing foundation for themselves. Ed and Dee Lusby were published in Bee Culture(Jan.1998 vol.126 #1) Mills for the 4.9 comb are being made by Tom Ind. in El Cajon, Cali. for about $850.00 there are several mills out there already in use. May the LORD BLESS YOU AND YOURS Bob _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]