86 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
rollers being only bin. long, the sheets formed were 
of restricted dimensions ; but American enterpise saw 
“ there was money in it,” and Mr. A. I. Root, 
whose painting in wax had produced such an un- 
sightly picture, quickly had machines ready for the 
market, and our friend Mr. Raitt, who became, to use 
his own words, “the happy possessor of a machine, 
the first of the kind on this side of the Atlantic,” was 
soon busy turning out foundation of delightful finish 
and great tenacity. Many alterations and some im- 
provements have followed, but even yet no pattern 
seems to stand better than that made by the earlier 
machines in which the rhomboids are kept at the 
pitch given to them under pressure by the side walls 
standing between them. 
The sheets, having been made on dipping-boards, 
are ready to be passed between the rolls, which can 
be adjusted by the pressure-screws ps) to the 
thickness of foundation required — a point which should 
be carefully studied at the time of dipping. The 
sheets are somewhat extended in their passage, which^ 
for reasons hereafter given, may break down the 
molecular arrangement of the wax, and diminish its 
cohesion. The sheets would stick hopelessly to the 
rolls unless a “lubricator” were employed. This is 
added in the lubricating-trough {l£). Some use soapy 
water. Mr. A. I. Root recommends thin paste, made 
of cheap starch, as the very best material with which 
he is acquainted. From experiment, I believe that 
infusion of quilla bark, might, with great advantage, 
replace the soapy water at least. Its action in pre- 
venting sticking is simply perfection. The altera- 
