230 Foundation Making. 



practical. As Mr. Heddon says, the bees in two days, with 

 iiiundation, will do more than "they would in eight days with- 

 out it. Every one who wishes the best success must use founda- 

 tion not only in the brood chamber but in sections. Whoever 

 has 100 colonies of bees may well own a machine for himself. 



HOW' FOUNDATION IS MADE. 



The process of making the foundation is very simple. Thin 

 sheets of wax, of the desired thickness, are jiressed between 

 the plates or passed between the rolls, which are made 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 pre- 

 vented. 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', 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 prefers 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. 



TO SECURE THE WAX SHEETS. 



The wax should be melted in a double walled tin ve.ssel, 

 with water between the walls, so that in no case would it be 

 burned or overheated. 



To form the sheets a dipping board of the width and length 

 of the desired sheets, is the best. It should be made of pine, 

 and should be true and very smooth. This is first dipped into 

 cold water, then one end is dipped quickly into the melted 

 wax, then raised till dripping ceases — only a second — this end 

 dipped into the cold water, grasped by means of a dextrous 

 toss with the hands and the other end treated the same way. 

 The thing is repeated if necessary till the sheet is thick enough. 

 Twice dipping is enough for brood combs, once for sections. 

 We now only have to shave the edges with a sharp knife, and 

 we can peel off two fine sheets of wax. This is Mr. Jones' 

 plan, and is better than to dip only one end of the board, as 

 in that case the wax runs down the board and the sheets are 



