388 



COMB FOUNDATION. 



nature of beeswax, making it into a soapy substance, while it 

 will leave paraffine and other mineral wax unchanged. 



687. The machines used for thin foundation are not the 

 same as those used for brood foundation. The latter, made 

 on a light wall machine, would be too weak to stand the weight 

 of the bees, in a full-sized brood frame, and would not con- 

 tain wax enough for the bees to build their comb; for it is 

 a remarkable fact that the becb ^'thin out" the foundation 

 to a certain extent and make it considerably deeper out of 



Fig. 145. 



THIN BASE rOUNDATION. 



(A B C of Bee-Culture.) 



the same material. AVhen it has been made, ivith a thin base 

 and a heavy wall, the bees draw it out more readily into comb. 

 On the other hand, foundation for surplus (731) must 

 be made as light as the finest machine can make it, to avoid 

 what is called the "fish-bone/' a central rib found in the 

 honey-comb that has been built on too heavy foundation. 

 There is no "fish-bone," if the proper grade has been used, 

 and even an expert in comb-honey hesitates in deciding 

 whether the base is natural or artificial. 



