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Vol. IV. 



FEBRUARY 1, 1876. 



No. 2. 



HOW TO MAKE COMB FOUNDATIOIVS 



AIN'I> PrT THEM BN THE FRAMES 



AT 0]\E OPERATION', AT 'J'HE 



RATE OF 8 IN S MlTVl'TES. 



^W^/l'-^ have been accustomed to thinking the 

 yiyj Yankees were a little ahead of the rest 

 of mankind in originality and ingennity, but 

 the following seems to leave ns rather behind. 

 "We believe onr countrymen will all join in a 

 vote of thanks to Mr. Cheshire, and also to Mr. 

 Hunter, who took the trouble to mail ns a copy 

 of the magazine containing the following: 



It now remains for me to redeem my promise, liy 

 pxtilniniiifc my iiiethort ot raakini; wax fruiiies. The 

 first requisite is a plaster of Paris model or mould, 

 which may be either made t'rom natural comb or the 

 metallic embossed plates to which I have previouslj- 

 referred. If we possess the latter, we shall be enabled 

 to obtain casts of greater regularity, but not greater 

 utility, than those maite from the work of the bees. 

 Proceed thus : Dab the metal ])late with a piece of 

 .-iponge or rag whicli has been spariuglv moistened 

 with some thin oil— parallin answers adnurably; then 

 place over the plate, a slightly nailed wooden frame, 

 jireviously oiled to]>reveut the sticking of tli3 plaster, 

 and one and a half inches deep and wide, but the 

 whole length of this plate. Xow mix a very thin paste 

 of super jdaster of Paris— the kind used by <ienti»ts for 

 modelling— and pour it into the trough, fill up with 

 somewliat stiil'er i)laster, and strike it off level at the 

 top. In a few minutes the whole may be lifted and 

 the frame removed after loosening its joints. 



As embossed jilates are expensive, I will describe 

 how to proceed with natural comb; Select a straiglit 

 card of worker cells, and, witli a sharp knife moistened 

 with soapy water, cut down towards the mid-rib, but 

 not so as to touch it: pour on thin ])laster, and lay all 

 smootli with a trowel ; when this is set turn tlie comb 

 over, and cautiously shave away the walls of the cells, | 

 in which we shall be much assisted by the plaster ' 

 backing. (Should the comb not be large enough, two j 

 pieces may be carefully placed together, their abut- 

 ting edges being sawn straight. Now dab with par- | 

 affin, using but a very small amount, and proceeil as i 

 before. If the comi> employed has been used for I 

 breeding, the chrysalis cases will interfere with the j 

 neatness of our work, but even then any in-egular 

 fragments may be got rid of l)y singeing. The sides of | 

 the moulds should be rubbed flat upon a wet smooth i 

 st)ne, such as the Ijottom of a kitchen sink, when they ! 

 will be ready for use. 



In order to make the guide it is only neccssar}" to ! 

 well soak the idaster cast with water, and [jfacc j 

 against its side tlie to)) bar of the frame, so that the 

 centre of it lies along the edge of the cast. Pure wax 

 having been melted, as I have often explained, in an I 

 ordinary glue-pot, it is applieil by a ])ainter's common 

 brush to" the top of the cast and tlie exposed pari of the 

 bai-. The wet jdaster receives a coating-, wliich ininu- 

 diately sets, but doe< not adhere; while llie wax ir.- 

 forporates itself with the wood, which, when raircd, 

 ••arries a guide most firmly attached and straight a^ an 

 arrow. The little ai)paratns-explained by tlie accom- j 

 iTiUying diagram, and whiidi I used at "the Crvstal i 

 I'alace sliow. and to whicli a ;ilver medal was award- ! 

 I'd— will enable us to work more agreeablv an<l expc- | 

 diiiously. A ■shallow tin or zinc irav. 1, ■.'. holding ■ 



water, has the plaster model, U, stood in it, when ca))- 

 illarily carries up the exact ainount of moisture nec- 

 essary to ])revenl adhesion of the wax. The tins hav- 

 ing been adjusted so t.s to bring the centre of the bar, 

 Y. opposite to the top of the mould, the latter is pushed 

 into contact with the former, ami the wax brushed on 



as betore. A dabbing motion with the brush iiro. lu- 

 ces the best impression wliich, by a little practice. 

 may be made astonishingly perfect. " In waxing frames; 

 a prop or wedge should be placed under the bottom 

 bar, or Y will not stand in a jierpendicular position; 

 before raising the frame the prop should be reinoveil. 

 Instead of the tins two screws, standing lietween 1 

 and the upright piece, are, i)erliaps, more convenieni, 

 as they can be turned in and out so as to adjust the 

 height of the bar, Y. to the greatest nicety. 



The guide, should be finished by being cut with a 

 pair of scissors to about the form desired. The best, 

 work is made by trimming one bar, while the next is 

 remaining to cool before lifting. 



By this plan, when the work has really started, an 

 eight-bar super can be furnished with iie'rfectlv regu- 

 lar and secure guides, li inch wide, in three minutes: 

 but when the operation is Icng continued, the jdaster 

 grows warm. It is well, therefore, in this case to have 

 j two casts, so that the warmed mould mav be exchan- 

 ged as occasion requires. F. Cheshirk. 

 Acton, Middlesex, E;ngland. 

 "\Vc have made such an apparatus, and it 

 certainly does produce foundations as thin as 

 may be desired, but they are so frail they 

 would never bear shipping : besides they are 

 by no means as sharp and perfect as ilr. Long's. 

 It may be that the bees will use them justas 

 well, but we confess they do not look as work- 

 manlike as we would like, especially on the 

 upper side. As they are so cheaply made we 

 think they are destined to be usetl largely for 

 surplus boxes, .but each bee-keeper will need 

 to make his own for the reason mentioned. 

 Those who wish to purchase their hives and 

 boxes all ready for the bees, without any ne- 

 cessity for fussing with plaster of Paris' and 

 melted wax, had l^etter use the foundations. 

 It may not be amiss just here, to advise you to 

 l)rovide large sheets of brown paper with which 

 to cover the floor and tables, before you com- 

 mence '.vork with your wax and plaster. It 

 will be quite difflcult to make large sheets by 

 this process; perhaps two inches broad, and 

 the leng:h of your frame Avill be t!ic limit. 



