DECEMBER 1, 1914 



953 



Heads ef Grain frerai BiffereM FieMi 



THE BACKLOT BUZZER. 



Did you ever stop to think what a beautiful word 

 " Honey " was, and how careful you had to be when 

 you said it to the other fellow's girl? 



Queries Regarding Making Comb Foun- 

 dation. 



Does wax have to be treated with sulphuric acid 

 when one is maliing medium-brood foundation for 

 his own use ? or does the bleaching with the acid 

 improve the quality of the wax? 



What is the cause of the wax slipping on the 

 boards ? It seems to break loose from the boards 

 and slip a little on the second or third dipping. 



Should the water in the tank where you put the 

 boards after being dipped be warmed a little, or 

 cold ? The sheets bothered us somewhat by cracking 

 when we put them in cold water. 



In Cowan's book, Wax Craft, it speaks of using 

 five per cent of tallow with beeswax to help in the 

 bleaching, five per cent not being considered an 

 adulteration. Would wax thus treated be fit to work 

 into brood foundation ? 



If you use soapsuds as a lubricant on the rollers 

 of the mill, doesn't the foundation have to be rinsed 

 before it can be used ? 



Can wax be burnt where steam is used for heat- 

 ing? 



Should the wax sheets roll out much longer when 

 they are being run through the mill? 



Could wax that had been adulterated with paraffin 

 be used to make foundation'? 



What per cent of salt should be used in the water 

 where the sheets are tempered before rolling? 



Is it necessary to let the sheets lie three weeks 

 after they are dipped before rolling? Does it im- 

 prove the foundation to leave it to season three 

 weeks ? 



Brooks Park, Minn., March 16. Haeey Bell. 



[You do not necessarily have to treat wax with 

 sulphuric acid that you make brood foundation from; 

 for, aside from the clarifying, there is no particular 

 virtue in the use of the acid. Almost every one who 

 attempts to use the acid uses too much. It is much 

 better to err on the safe side, and use too little. We 

 have often told beginners to take the amount which 

 they thought would be about right, and then throw 

 away nine-tenths of it. 



There are two possible causes for the wax to slip 

 on the board so that it might come entirely loose at 

 the second or third dipping. The first and principal 

 cause is that the boards are too wet; the second, that 

 they are too cold. We presume from what you say 

 that your trouble was on account of having the 

 boards too wet. 



The water in the tank where the boards are placed 

 should not be too cold — 55 degrees would be all 

 right. It warms up somewhat after a little, but 

 does no harm unless it gets entirely too warm. 



We do not advise the use of any tallow in the wax. 



Soapsuds when used as a lubricant on the rollers 

 of the mill does no harm, for the pressure removes 

 all the excess of the solution so that practically none 

 of it is left on the wax. 



It is very easy to make foundation with wax that 

 contains some paraffin, but the trouble is that such 

 foundation will not stand the heat of the hives with- 

 out sagging badly, and in some cases breaking down 

 entirely, as in case of very hot days in a strong 

 colony when the bees cluster on the foundation in 

 large numbers. 



The exact percentage of salt is not important, al- 

 though the water should not be so briny as to make 

 the boards look white. About one pound of salt to 

 a pail of water is sufficient. 



If the sheets can be allowed to season two or 

 three weeks the wax becomes much tougher, and 

 there is less difficulty in milling. Be sure that the 

 sheets are entirely cold on both sides before you pile 

 them up, however. Otherwise there is liable to be 

 considerable sticking. 



Wax is likely to be overheated by a dry heat, as 

 over a fire for instance, if the vessel containing it 

 is not surrounded by water. With steam heat there 

 is practically no danger of overheating. At the 

 same time, do not allow a small quantity of wax to 

 remain in the bottom of a large tank subjected to 

 steam heat for a long time, as it will then undergo 

 some change, or there will be danger of it. 



The foundation is usually quite a little longer 

 than the sheet, the exact increase in length depend- 

 ing on the thickness of the sheet. — Ed.] 



Fastening Foundation in Sections and in 

 Frames 



I am getting up 100 shallow extracting-supers, 

 ten-frame. I will wire them. Would it be advisable 

 to use thin brood foundation? How near the bottom- 

 bar should the foundation come? I have some 

 trouble because of foundation coming loose at the 

 top. I fasten it in with a Van Deusen wax-tube 

 fastener. Is there any thing that I could apply to 

 the top-bar like rosin or paint? Should I put some 

 rosin in the beeswax ? Is it all right to use some 

 paraffin ? 



In putting these new supers on should I put all 

 the frames in the supers to start with, or would it 

 be better to put two or three in the middle ? 



