foundation in early days

[burny]

what did they use in the earlier years of beekeeping for foundation in frames? just wondering....brookie,or burny or whoever i am.

[Jerrymac]

I would imagine that they let the bees build from scratch.

[Miss Chick-a-BEE]

I don't know the full history of beekeeping devolopment. But I would imagine it went from logs and skeps, to maybe a top bar arrangement, until someone made a rolling press that could shape out the cells from pure wax. They might have even used flat pieces of wax for a time.

Beth

[Michael Bush]

I assume we mean as movable comb.  Obviously in skeps and box hives the bees built whatever they wanted.

The greek top bar/basket hives had top bars with a curved bottom on them to encourage the bees to build in the center.

http://www.outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/graphics/greek_hive.gif

Huber used a piece of comb cut out and braced into the frame.

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/Huber.1.jpg

Langstroth used a beveled top bar and side bars and center bar as a comb guide.

http://www.beeclass.com/DTS/briefh6.gif

Even after the invention of foundation many beekeepers used (and still use) starter strips of either blank sheets of wax or cut pieces of foundation.

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/PrimaryCombOnBlankStarterStrip.JPG

or beveled top bars

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/FoundationlessFrame2.JPG
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/DadantDeep1.jpg
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/FoundationlessDrawn.JPG
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/KTBHComb.JPG

[burny]

thanks for info and pictures.
           burny

[taw]

Moveable frames were invented prior to langstroth's great discovery of bee-space. And sometime after that the first foundation press was invented... by dadant I believe. I would assume that natural comb on those early frames was what occured.