WAX. 



461 



WAX. 



where it is drawn off through a spout. As 

 will be seen, this is somewhat similar to the 

 plan shown in Eig-. 2, before mentioned, al- 

 though it would be, of course, a great im- 

 provement on that very crude method. 



From our experiments, and from reports 

 we have received from hundreds of bee- 

 keepers, it would seem as though the wax- 

 press were by all means the most satisfac- 

 tory wax-extractor yet devised. We doubt 



FfG. 4.— AN UNHANDY AND UNSATISFAC- 

 TORY PLAN. 



whether any thing but pressure combined 

 with heat can remove all of the wax. In 

 saying this, we realize that there will prob- 

 ably never be a wax-extractor of any kind 

 that will economically remove the last rai'ti- 

 cle of wax ; but if the amount of waste can 

 be reduced to less than one per cent, the 

 loss is an item that can be neglected. 



Before entering the discussion of wax- 

 presses it may be well to add a word of 

 caution to bee-keepers who are sure that the 

 particular method they are using enables 

 them to obtain all the wax or practically all- 

 If the refuse, when they are done, has not 

 been put through a well-constructed pre.'-s 

 we believe that there wtII be no way of de- 

 termining the amount of waste, for it might 

 contain as much as 20 per cent of wax and 

 still look perfectly clean and show^ no traces 

 of it when examined. On a small scale it is 

 possible to get some idea of the amount of 

 wax left in refuse by the following very 

 simjile plan: 



Thoioughly heat in boiling water the refuse 

 to be tested, then allow it to cool slightly: 

 seize a large handful, and squeeze it as much 

 as possible in the fingers. If fine lines of 

 wax appear in the creases between the fin- 

 gers a good deal of wax is left— perhajis 

 from five to ten per cent or more, depending 

 upon the amount of wax shown. The hand 

 will not be burned in the very short time 



necessary to make this test. But, as before 

 stated— the most conclusive method of de- 

 termining the waste is to run the .refuse 

 through a well-constructed press. 

 hot-water wax-prksses. 



■In these the pressure may be continued 

 without the least danger of .chilling tJie 

 combs. This method has also a decided ad- 

 vantage in that the screw can be raised after 

 having been tiu-ned down, and the cheese 

 allowed to become saturated again with boil- 

 ing water. The screw may then be lowered, 

 and this hot water forced out of the lefuse, 

 carrying with it more of the wax. This op- 

 eration must be repeated as often as found 

 necessary by experience. It is thus seen that 

 there is no disagreeable handling of the re- 

 fuse until all the wax is out. Furthermore, 

 the w^ork, if necessary, may be confined to 

 the one tank. 



Mr. Orel L. Hershiser, of Buffalo, N. Y., 

 devised the hot- water press shown in Fig. 5. 

 The capacity of this is large, so that it is 

 possible to obtain as much as 75 pounds of 

 wax in one day over a common stove. One 

 great objection to hot-water presses hereto- 

 fore has been their relatively small cajiacity 

 of wax per day. Mr. Hershiser, by making 

 the press very large, overcomes this difficul- 

 ty. 



The quality of wax from hot- water pre.- ses 

 is usually not very gocd, because of the 

 long-continued high temperature. In the 

 Hershiser press more hot w^ater is intro- 

 duced at short intervals into the lower part, 

 causing the melted wax to overflow through 

 the outlet at the top. In this way the wax 

 is not left for any great length of time on 

 the boiling water, so that the color is not 

 darkened. 



Perhaps one objection to hot-water presses 

 is the cost of the outfit ; but for extensive 

 bee-keepers we believe that they are the 

 most practical, as somewhat cleaner work 

 can be done, owing to the long-continued 

 intermittent pressure on the refuse sur- 

 rounded by hot water. In other words, old 

 combs rendered in a hot-water press may be 

 pressed as many as fifteen or twenty times, 

 so that it is possible to reduce the final loss 

 to only a fraction of one per cent. 



If one wishes to try the liot-water method 

 by using an outfit constructed at home he 

 can follow the plan shown in Fig. 6. An 

 ordinary kettle may be used, although it 

 would be advisable to have one with a flat 

 bottom. As it would be rather difllcult to 

 construct a cross-beam over the kettle rigid 

 enough to stand the pressure exerted by a 



