374 



COMB FOUNDATION. 



Acting upon socialistic principles, in our manufacture of 

 comb-foundation, we have interested our worltmen, as we did 

 the farmers on whose lands we have out- Apiaries (684). 

 Pursuing the same principles, our workmen have associated 

 together, dividing their earnings and electing their fore- 

 man. Such arrangements produce not only harmony, but 

 many other results. Our laborers get better wages ; and 

 there is less need of close watching ; for the work is always 

 done with the view of increasing the business by satisfying 

 the customers. 



"Well-made foundation will keep for years, in a dry place. 

 It should never be handled when cold ; and when too much 

 softened by heat, should be cooled in a cellar, a few hours 

 before it is handled. 



692. The best grade of foundation for brood or extract- 

 ing (749) combs is that which measures about five square 

 feet to the pound ; that for sections, ten to twelve feet. 

 On this latter grade, the comb is not so readily built, for 

 the bees have to add their own wax to it. 



693. The founda- 

 tion is fastened in the 

 sections by different 

 machines, the most 

 simple of which is the 

 Parker Fastener, sold 

 by all dealers in bee- 

 implements. 



In his " Management 

 of Bees" Mr. Doolittle 

 describes his method, 

 as follows : 







w— * I b.. '■ n ii. i M^^^^a ^aLp 



Fig 118. 



FOUNDATION FASTENED ON A 



TMANGULAR BAR. 



From " Bees and Honey . ' ' 



"Turn your sections top side down, hold a hot iron close to 

 the box, and after holding the starter immediately above and 

 touching the iron, draw the iron out quickly and press the 

 starter gently on to the wood, when it is a fixture." 



