3872 COMB FOUNDATION. 
the hive, the bees readily discover the imposition and show 
a decided preference for pure foundation. 
The most common adulteration of crude bees-wax is 
made with tallow. Luckily, this is easily recognized by 
the soft, dull appearance of the cakes. The smell of tallow 
is also noticeable in freshly broken fragments. 
687. The machines used for thin foundation should not 
be the same as those used for brood foun:lation. The lat- 
ter, made on a light wall machine, would be too weak to 
stand the weight of the bees, in a full-sized brood frame, 
and would not contain wax enough for the bees to build 
their comb; for it is a remarkable fact that the bees ‘‘thin 
out’’ their foundation to a certain extent and make it con- 
siderably deeper out of the same material. When it has 
been made, with a thin base and a heavy wall, the bees draw 
it out more readily into comb. 
On the other hand, foundation for surplus (719) must 
be made as light as the finest machine can make it, to avoid 
what is called the ‘‘ fish-bone,’’ a central rib found in the 
honey-comb that has been built on too heavy foundation. 
There is no ‘‘fish-bone,’’ if the proper grade has been 
used, and even an expert in comb-honey hesitates in decid- 
ing whether the base is natural or artificial. 
- At the present day, nearly every section (721) of comb- 
honey that is sold, has been built on such foundation. The 
daintiest and most fastidious ladies can have no objection 
to it, and on visiting a well-managed foundation shop, they 
declare that the tender sheets are ‘‘ nice enough to eat.’’ 
689. To prepare the wax sheets, we use soft wood boards 
$ of an inch thick, bathed in tepid water. They are wiped 
with a sponge, and dipped in melted wax, two or three 
times. The lower part of the board is then dipped in cold 
water, when it is turned bottom side up, and the other end 
is treated in the same manner. After the board has been 
put in water to cool for a little while, it is taken out; its 
