At 02:24 PM 12/6/05 -0800, you wrote: >--- Michael Palmer <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >Maybe that's why we are so adament about >"proof" when it come to the efficacy of small comb >management. We just hate to see all that money goin' >down the drain. A thought. > Sure. I understand. All too clearly :) Unfortunately, it doesn't really change the situation any, and the proof everyone's looking for may not be forthcoming anytime soon because I suspect, if there's anything to "small cell" at all, that it's about more than just "cell size". Therefore, any experiment that simply pits small cell foundation against large cell foundation with everthing else being equal is likely to turn out "inconclusive". I should know for myself in time if there's anything to it- I'm performing my own experiment- the results of which are still uncertain :) I've got 6 1st year hives living in 2 deeps with 75% of the comb currently small cell. Next spring I'll feed more small cell into the brood nests and cull out the last of the large cell combs- which I'll reuse in some of my other hives. It's not a well-controlled scientific experiment, but it's an experiment nonetheless- and it's my experiment. The results may be worthless to anyone but myself and anyone wishing to debunk my results, regardless of what they are, won't have a hard time doing so! And I don't really care, because I'm not doing this for anyone but myself. I just want to have healthy bees and I really don't want to shut out any possible avenues to that end just because the might not work. That's not to say I'm going to try every quack treatment that comes down the pike either. I'd like to think that I'm not wasting my time and money and that there really IS something to this small cell thing, but that attitude will not affect my interpretation of the results. Or maybe it already has :) If I end up back at square one a few years from now, I'll be the first to admit it. Despite everyone's heavy investment in large cell beekeeping "stuff" and their their precious combs (many of which should probably have been turned into candles a long time ago), there's nothing stopping them from wiring up some frames of small cell foundation and shaking down a hive on `em and performing their OWN experiment- nothing except perhaps their own unwillingness to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on something that just might work. It could even be fun- some real investigative beekeeping for a change. George- --------------------------------------- George & Nancy Fergusson Sweet Time Apiary 326 Jefferson Road Whitefield Maine 04353 207-549-5991 http://www.sweettimeapiary.com/ -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---