Texas Beekkeping. 



69 



a comb foundation mill, re- 

 sembling very much a clothes 

 wringer with metal rollers. 

 These rollers are engraved on 

 their surfaces in such a way 

 that the impressions of the 

 cells will be left on the wax 

 sheets. 



Comb foundation may al- 

 ways be profitably used, as it 

 insures the building of 

 straight combs in the frames, 

 even if only a very narrow 

 starter is used. A serious 

 objection to using only start- 

 ers is that it allows the bees 

 to build too much drone comb 





toamjjles ot different grades of 

 foundation. 



under 



Comb foundation mill. 



most conditions. Full sheets 

 used at all times will insure 

 not only the straightest 

 combs, but will force the bees 

 to build all worker cells. 



Foundation is made in sev- 

 eral weigthts and sizes to fit 

 the particular frames in use. 

 Medium and light brood 

 foundations are used in deep- 

 er frames, especially in brood 

 frames, the light brood always 

 with wires stretched in tke 



frames. The wires are imbedded in the foundation with a spur wire im- 



bedder, because the 



weight of the bees upon 



it would otherwise tear 



the sheets down. Thin 



and extra thin super 



foundation is intended 



for the supers with 



shallow frames, or in 



the section boxes. The 



thin foundation is more 



expensive, because there 



are more sheets to the 



pound , and it requires more labor in making than the heavy grades. 



Although some beekeepers 

 make their own foundation on 

 a hand mill, these are very 

 few compared with those who 

 buy their supply from large 



, . , . _ manufacturers, who make this 



Spur wire Imbedaer. . ,, ' , 



a specialty and are, conse- 

 quently, better prepared to furnish a superior grade of foundation. 



Imbedding the wires. 



