WAX. 



457 



WAX. 



IV AX. Tliis is a term that is applied to 

 a large class of substances very much resem- 

 bling one another in external characteristics, 

 but quite unlike chemically. The wax of 

 commerce may be divided into four general 

 classes: Beeswax, familiar to us all; mineral 

 wax, or by-products from petroleum; wax 

 from plants, and wax from insects other 

 than bees. But the first two are by far the 

 most important commercially, in. this coun- 

 try. Of the mineral waxes we have what is 

 most common, viz., paraffine and ceresin. 

 Beeswax is the most valuable, and has a 

 specific gravity of between 960 and 972, and 

 melting-point of between 143 and 145- F. 

 The mineral Avaxes vary so much in hard- 

 ness, melting-point, and specific gravity, that 

 it would be useless to name exact figures. 

 As a rule, however, it may be stated that 

 the fusing-point of paraffine is much below 

 that of beeswax, while that of ceresin may 

 be either above or below, or practically the 

 same. In general, we may say that the spe- 

 cific gravity of both commercial paralfine 

 and ceresin is below that of beeswax; which 

 fact renders it an easy matter to detect adul- 

 teration of beeswax with either paratfine or 

 ceresin, by a method that will be explained 

 further on, under the head of Adultera- 

 tion OF Beeswax. 



There are also known to commerce Japan- 

 ese wax and China w^ax, both of which may 

 or may not be the product of insects or 

 plants. As they are so much more expen- 

 sive than either paraffine or ceresin, little 

 fear need be entertained of their use as adul- 

 terants of beeswax. 



BEESWAX. 



For the bees and their keeper, no product 

 has ever been discovered that can take the 

 place of that which the bees themselves fur- 

 nish. Real beeswax retains ductility and 

 tenacity under greater ranges of tempera- 

 ture than any mineral, plant, or insect wax. 

 Combs made from foundation containing 25 

 to 50 per cent of adulterations of paraffine or 

 ceresin are very liable to melt down in the 

 hive in hot weather. Paraffine is ductile 

 enough to make beautiful foundation, but 

 does not stand the heat of the hive. Cere- 

 sin, on the other hand, while more closely 

 allied to genuine beeswax in point of spe- 

 cific gravity and fusibility, is too tough and 

 brittle, under some conditions, for bees to 

 work. Work it? Yes, they wilL and con- 

 struct combs; and in Germany we under- 

 stand that considerable ceresin foundation 

 has been and perhaps is being sold now; but 

 our experience leads us to believe that it is 



poor economy, and will lead the bee-keeper 

 or the poor bees to grief sooner or later. 

 Practically, then, we can say that genuine 

 beeswax is the only product that ought to go 

 into foundation; and we are glad to say that 

 it is the only article that foundation-makers 

 in this country use. 



j HOW ];ees "make" wax. 



If >ou watch the bees closely during the 

 height of the honey-harvest, or, what is per- 

 haps better, feed a colony heavily on sugar 

 syrup for three days during warm weather, 

 toward the end of the second or third day, 

 on looking closely you will see little jtearly 

 disks of wax, somewhat resembling fish- 

 scales, protruding from between rings on the 

 under side of the body of the bee, which, ex- 

 amined with a magnifier, leveal little wax 

 cakes of rare beauty. Sometimes, especially 

 when the bees are being fed heavily, these 

 wax scales fall on the bottom-board and may 

 be scraped up in considerable quantities, 

 seeming for some reason not to have been 

 wanted. During the seasons for natural se- 

 cretion of wax, where the colony has a hive 

 affording plenty of room for surplus we be- 

 lieve wax scales are seldom wasted. At 

 svvarmijig-time there seems to be an unusual 

 number of bees provided with them; for 

 when bees remain clustered on a limb for 

 only a few minutes, bits of wax are attached, 

 as if they were going to start comb. When 

 domiciled in their new hive, comes the time, 

 should it please them, to show astonishing 

 skill and dexterity in fabricating honey- 

 comb. 



BEESAVAX IN THE AKTS. 



Under the action of the United Stat( s pure- 

 food law that went in effect Jan. 1,1907, 

 beeswax will have much larger use than 

 ever. Indeed, there is already a notable in- 

 crease in the price. Druggists (thousands 

 and thousands of whom in the country for- 

 merly used paraffine, ceresin, and the like) 

 will now be compi lied under the new law to use 

 nothing but pure beeswax, and the amount 

 will run up into the hundreds of thousands of 

 of pounds. But what use have druggists for 

 wax V They require it in making plasters, 

 certain kinds of ointments, and for certain 

 medicines known to the pharmacopoeia. 



There has always been a large use for par- 

 affine and ceresin in making candy; but now 

 this must cease, while beeswax will be per- 

 mitted as before. These two industries 

 alone will increase the demand for the prod- 

 uct of the hive to a great extent ; and while 

 we do not expect an immediate advance in 



