thousand answers 53 
honey is coming in, it may become so bad that bees will not touch 
it next year. 
Q. Please state the advantage in using the reinforced comb 
foundation. Some claim it takes less than other comb foundation, 
being thick on top and thin on bottom. If there is any comb foun- 
dation that is better please let me know, and if it is a fake, then 
also give the facts. 
A. I did not know that it had ever been claimed that less 
foundation was needed if reinforced. Likely what you mean is 
that a less weight of wax might be used in filling a hive with 
foundation. I do not see why that may not be true. Foundation 
for brood-combs must be of a certain weight to prevent sagging. 
But the sagging is chiefly at the top. Now, if we use lighter 
foundation and reinforce the top part, there is a saving of wax. 
It is claimed, also, that bees begin work more promptly on the 
wax that is painted on. I have never used it enough to speak 
with authority, but I do not believe there is any fake about it, 
and I do not remember having seen a report from anyone who 
condemns it after having tried it. 
Q. Is it not a fact that many combs affected with foulbrood 
and other diseases are rendered into wax, and that the founda- 
tion on sale by all dealers is contaminated more or less with this 
same wax? 
A. Undoubtedly much wax is made from foulbrood combs, 
and just as undoubtedly much of it must fall into the hands of 
the manufacturers of comb foundation. But it does not follow 
that the foundation is contaminated so as to make it in the least 
dangerous. The continued high temperature to which the wax is 
subjected, when being made into foundation, destroys the spores. 
I think that some hold, too, that even if a spore were not de- 
stroyed by the heat, it would not germinate after receiving an 
impervious coating of hot wax. 
Comb Foundation Fastening. — Q. Can full sheets of founda- 
tion be used for brood-frames without using either wire or wood- 
splints? Would it sag so as to spoil the cells for brood-rearing? 
A. Unless the foundation be extra heavy it may sag enough 
to stretch a good many of the cells in the upper part. 
Q. Please give me the method of fixing foundation (full 
sheets) in frames with wires; also starters, say 5 or 6 inches deep. 
A. I may say briefly that if you have top-bars with kerf and 
wedge, it will be easy to insert the upper edge of the sheet in the 
