3oS How Foundation is Made. 



into the wired frames. Rubber plates liave also been made 

 but as yet have not won general favor or acceptance. 

 Plaster of Paris molds made directly from the foundation 

 are made and used satisfactorily by some excellent bee- 

 keepers. All of the improved machines give us founda- 

 tion of exquisite mold and with such rapidity that it can be 

 made cheap and practical. As Mr. Heddon says, the bees 

 in two days, with foundation, will do more than they 

 would in eight days without it. Every one who wishes the 

 best success must use foundation often in the brood cham- 

 ber, and always in the sections, unless nice white comb is- 

 at hand. Whoever has loo colonies of bees may well own 

 a machine for himself, though it usually pays better to 

 purchase. The specialist can make nicer foundation than 

 the mf-c amateur. 



HOW FOUNDATION IS MADE. 



The process of making the foundation is very simple. 

 Thin sheets of wax, of the desired thickness, are pressed 

 between the plates or passed between the rolls, which are 

 rnade so as to stamp either drone or worker foundation as 

 desired. Worker is best, I think, even for sections. The 

 only difficulty in the way of very rapid work is that from 

 sticking of the wax sheets to the dies. Mr. Heddon finds 

 that by wetting the dies with concentrated lye the wax is 

 not injured and sticking is prevented. Mr. Jones uses soap- 

 suds with excellent success for the same purpose. Think 

 of two men running through fifty pounds of foundation in 

 an hour ! That is what I saw two men do at Mr. Jones's 

 with a Dunham machine, by use of soap-suds. The man 

 who put in the wax sheets was not delayed at all. The 

 kind of soap should be selected with care. Mr. Root pre- 

 fers common starch to either lye or soap-suds. New 

 machines are more liable to trouble with sticking than are 

 those that have been used for some time. It is said that 

 dipping the sheets in salt brine also prevents this trouble- 

 some sticking. Mr. Baldridge gives this hint but conceals 

 the name of the discoverer. 



