BEE MANUAL. 163 
sheets of foundation while they are being impressed. A frame 
already wired is placed over the lower plate and a sheet of wax 
on the wires ; the plates are put through the usual process, 
and the sheet comes out wired and fastened in'the frame. 
The Given press numbers among its friends many of the 
leading bee-keepers of America. 
} 
DRONE CELL FOUNDATION. 
All the machines now manufactured, whether of the roller 
or press description, are made to impress worker-sized eells, 
unless specially ordered for drone cells. It was at first thought 
that the larger cells would be advantagecus in the surplus 
boxes, and a number of drone comb machines were sold ; but 
it was found that the use of such foundation encouraged the 
breeding of too many drones and the consequent occupation of 
the surplus boxes by the queen—two things which it is im- 
portant to guard against. JI had given this matter some 
thought when ordering my first machine in 1878, and decided 
not to order a second one for drone cells, as I anticipated that 
the use of drone comb would result, as it has proved to do, in 
a disadvantage. I find no difficulty in obtaining as much good 
drone comb as I desire by the following method. During the 
height of the honey season place a few frames, with only 
starters of foundation, in the top boxes ; the bees will, at that 
time, work them out at once with drone comb and fill them 
with honey before the queen has an opportunity to take charge 
of them for the purpose of egg laying. 
PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
The wax used for this purpose must be not only pure beeswax, 
_as already stated, but must also be as clean as possible; any 
dirt mixed with the wax tends to make the foundation brittle. 
When melting the wax a double boiler should always be used, 
the inner one for the wax and the outer one for water, in order 
to prevent the wax from burning; burnt wax is of no use for 
foundation. To make rapid work two such double boilers 
should be used, one in which the wax is melted from its cold 
state, the other to be kept supplied with melted wax at the 
proper temperature and used as a dipping boiler. The next 
things needed are a tub of cold water, two or more dipping 
